KRT rider and five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea will once again take the track in Spain alongside his new team-mate Alex Lowes, this time for the final winter test of the 2019 calendar year. Jerez is the destination, between 28 and 29 November.
Both riders and their respective technical crews will be hoping for two days of uninterrupted dry and bright winter conditions, to allow a high degree of consistency when performing back-to-back tests and trying out various set-up options.
After riding one day of the potential two at the previous tests in Motorland Aragon, Rea knows exactly what he needs from what will be the final two days of official track action at Jerez before the winter break arrives. The feedback and set-up data from this test will therefore be of great importance to all inside the overall Kawasaki effort to make ready for the 2020 season.
After a positive first experience with his new team at Motorland Aragon, even in the face of sometimes-unfavourable weather conditions, Lowes is now out to discover more of the full nature of the class-leading Ninja ZX-10RR at Jerez.
Lowes was still close to the top of the best times at the Motorland tests which gives him and the team great confidence to build on, as they continue to forge a strong working relationship to maximise the full potential of the entire racing project.
Weather conditions can always change, particularly at this time of the year, but as it stands the forecasts indicate that Jerez should benefit from a period of dry weather for the two days of testing.
As well as being the location for this test, the 4.423km long Jerez circuit will also be the host venue for the third round of the 2020 WorldSBK championship itself, to be held in late March.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am pretty happy to get back on my bike again as we never got the best conditions at Aragon. With Jerez just being a little further south in Europe, at this time of year we can hopefully rely on some better riding conditions to continue our winter test programme. We are trying some different things and we have some new test items to try. We are also experimenting with our base set-up a little bit. It is the time of the year when we can really do that. After the Aragon test I have been busy at home and also I visited the Motorcycle Live Show in Birmingham, which was really nice because I hung out with a lot of fans. Just to hear all the positive vibes gave me good energy to approach this last part of the year, and give a big effort at the last winter test of 2019. It is one of the most important tests because in January it can be even cooler. Most of our priority is to enjoy the bike – and be fast!”
Alex Lowes, stated: “I am really looking forward to this test because Aragon was affected a lot by the weather. My goals for this next test are to understand the bike a little bit more, and then hopefully be able to do some longer runs on the bike. I want to get more understanding of what sort of changes, and how the bike feels with the changes, that the guys make on the set-up. I will also keep working on my relationship with the guys in the garage, so that they understand exactly what I need from the bike. Obviously, getting the bike set-up for the track and having a good feeling at the track is important. But in the racing season the track temperatures can be a bit higher, so it is more important that the guys understand my feedback from the bike, and understand what I need from the set-up, so it minimises the time needed to get the feeling I will need. Jerez is a track I really enjoy and I am just looking forward to getting more laps in, continuing the process of adapting to the bike and the team. It is going to be good and we are all hoping for some sunshine.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “Our next test is very important because it will be the final one before we go into the Christmas break. It is important to finish with a good vibe to close out an incredible year. The weather forecast looks good so Alex will have the opportunity to ride for two full dry days; for sure he will make incredible steps. Our first sensations working with him in Motorland were good. He is working calmly and patiently to make the rhythm come to him instead of chasing it. He shows a great, mature attitude and I think this will allow us to make good and solid steps. Jonathan is becoming stronger and even more motivated after the Motorland test, which he left after the first day because of a personal matter at home. We have prepared eight qualifying tyres for him to destroy the lap time before the Christmas break… This will be the final test after what must be the best season he has had until now. Let’s see how much he can enjoy – what we expect to be – good weather in Jerez.”
As well as the official KRT squad being at Jerez, Xavi Fores will ride the Kawasaki Puccetti Ninja ZX-10RR, and the expanded Pedercini Racing Team will field their existing WorldSBK rider Jordi Torres as well as their additional signing for 2020, Lorenzo Savadori.
Best Race Lap Record: 1:38.051, Marc Marquez, 2019
All-Time Lap Record: 1:36.880, Fabio Quartararo, 2019
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuito De Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
November 26, 2019
Day Two Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.820
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.837
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.959
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.964
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.973
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.986
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.100
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.113
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.211
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.352
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.442
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.452
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.674
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.813
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.940
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:38.962*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.224
Dani Pedrosa, Spain (KTM), 1:39.594*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.845*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.880
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.884*
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.943
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:49.921*
*test rider
Overall Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.131
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.820
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.837
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.885
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.959
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.986
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.100
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.113
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.211
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.253
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.352
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.358
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.442
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.500
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.813
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:38.962*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.224
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.588*
Dani Pedrosa, Spain (KTM), 1:39.594*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.652*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.880
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.943
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:43.056*
*test rider
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Marquez ends a rain-interrupted Day 2 on top
The reigning Champion signs off fastest – before heading for surgery on Wednesday
Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was fastest on Day 2 of the Jerez test, the reigning Champion posting a 1:37.820 on Tuesday morning to sign off for the season on top – although there were more headlines for the number 93 than just on-track. From the test, Marquez will now head for surgery on his right shoulder after a crash on Day 1 of the test exacerbated a problem that had already begun to plague him. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was second quickest and just 0.017 in arrears, with his teammate Joan Mir completing the top three on Tuesday.
Day 2 at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto was largely disrupted by rain, with the riders getting limited dry track time before the wet weather arrived at around 12:15 local time. On a wet track, less than half the field ventured out, but those who did include MotoGP™ rookies Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as all three used the time to test out their new machines in the different conditions.
Before that, however, Marquez had swiftly got down to business, setting the second fastest time of the test overall – and the quickest of the day – on his third flying lap. The number 93 retained three bikes in the garage as on Day 1, and the partial dislocation of his right shoulder suffered on Monday didn’t seem to be affecting him out on track but Marquez then announced he has elected to have surgery as a preventative measure after medical consultation. The operation will be similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018. Rookie Alex Marquez was 17th, and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) 13th on Tuesday – although the Brit put in limited laps.
Limited laps was true for many and definitely for Mir, who did only 12 laps to end the day in third, with Alex Rins putting in twice that and turning the tables on his teammate on Day 2. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli did 14 laps for the Hamamatsu factory, but the Team Suzuki Ecstar camp seem very pleased with their early 2020 progress with the new engine. “Back-to-back” testing with 2019 and 2020 parts was key for Team Manager Davide Brivio, and all three riders improved their laptime on Tuesday morning.
Yamaha ended Tuesday in fourth with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – although the number 12 remains fastest overall – and he put in 15 laps. Across the two days, Yamaha duo Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued testing the 2020 YZR-M1, with both having one 2020 – with a slightly different fuel tank – and one 2019 M1 in their garage. On Day 1, Rossi did a lot of his running with a carbon swingarm. However, that wasn’t the case on Day 2, with the number 46 running an aluminium swingarm on both of his bikes. Viñales seemed content using the aluminium swingarm for most of the test, with both riders saying small steps have been made with the 2020 engine. Rossi ended Tuesday in 10th, half a second off the top after 33 laps – more laps than most.
Over at Petronas Yamaha SRT, Fabio Quartararo was fifth on Tuesday and teammate Franco Morbidelli seventh. They confirmed they had been trying “a 2020 prototype” Yamaha engine specification in Jerez. The carbon swingarm didn’t appear on Day 2 for the duo, but it was a solid looking test for Quartararo and Morbidelli heading into the winter break.
Sixth fastest Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and 12th fastest Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) continued to work on Ducati’s new chassis on both days in Jerez, with both riders confirming it’s a step in the right direction. On Day 2, test rider Michele Pirro was seen using a new aero piece on the front wheel too. Jack Miller and Pramac Racing, meanwhile, completed just four laps on Day 2 as the rain saw them pack up early for the winter, but the Australian finished P8 on the day and combined standings after improving his time on Tuesday, the last rider within a second of Viñales’ overall best.
At Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, MotoGP™ Legend and test rider Dani Pedrosa was back out on track after missing Day 1 through illness and he did 11 laps. Pol Espargaro, fastest KTM in ninth, continued to lap with a new RC16 with the orange chassis. There was also a new fairing and new aero setup on display across the two days as Espargaro seems pleased with the Austrian factory’s progress. Binder was lapping on the ‘old’ bike and did a good amount of laps before the rain came on Tuesday morning, and as aforementioned the South African also headed out in the wet. Lecuona was also still on the ‘old’ bike as both rookies’ aim was to get more comfortable on the MotoGP™ machine. Lecuona and Binder ended the test 20th and 22nd respectively on Tuesday.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini and Aleix Espargaro had a new front wheel cover on Day 2 in Andalucia, an all-in-one piece with the front mudguard, wheel cover and caliper duct. He was 15th after 24 laps. Andrea Iannone, on the other side of the garage, only did four laps on Day 2 but finished eleventh. Test rider Bradley Smith, 21st on Tuesday, completed the most laps of anyone on Day 2 – 43.
Catch up on the two 2020 preseason tests so far on motogp.com with coverage, interviews and more, and stay tuned over the winter as the start of the season fast approaches! Qatar will be here faster than you think…
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
#JerezTest. Two days of official MotoGP testing at Jerez conclude for Jack Miller and Pramac Racing. See you in Malaysia!
The last two days of testing of the 2019 MotoGP season, ended today at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto. Jack Miller worked hard to test new parts of the Ducati Desmosedici 2020 that he will have available from the Sepang tests scheduled for early February 2020.
The Australian completed 51 laps in the first day of testing while today, due to the rain, he was able to complete only 4 laps, still managing to lower by more than three tenths of a second his best time recorded in Day-1.
Francesco Bagnaia did not take part in the tests, however, as he has already started to work to recover the best physical condition after the bad crash in the FP3 of #Valencia GP.
Jack Miller. Photo courtesy of Pramac Racing.
Jack Miller
They were two very productive days even if today we could not lap much because of the rain. But I am very satisfied because I was able to try new solutions that we will find in Malaysia when I will have the 2020 version of the Desmosedici GP. I would like to say a big thank you to Ducati and Pramac Racing. It has been a satisfying season and since the Sepang tests we will be working to improve even further. Happy holidays to everyone.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Lecuona gathers first wet experiences in Jerez
The final day of testing in 2019 saw Red Bull KTM Tech3’s MotoGP rookie Iker Lecuona finishing 20th after 26 laps. Following some dry time this morning, where he went slightly quicker than on day one, the rain arrived at the Circuito de Jerez at lunchtime, cutting the proceedings short, but at the same time delivering an interesting chance to Lecuona to go out on a wet track for the very first time in the MotoGP category.
Iker Lecuona (27). Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 20th
Time: 1:39.880
Laps: 26
“It was my first time in wet conditions and to be honest, it was quite strange. I need more laps, but finally I went quite fast. I liked the feeling, although I didn’t find out the limit in every point. I’m happy, but with some sectors not too much. For next year, I know that I need to improve in all the points, which is clear as long as you are not finishing first. I need work on my riding, on the brakes and picking up the bike, but finally in the wet it all went quite well and in general, I’m very happy.”
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
“It was the final day on track for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP outfit in 2019. We would have hoped for better weather in order to continue the learning process with Iker and in order to have more data with Dani Pedrosa, which was an important mission, but you know, we can control a few things, but for sure never the weather. Still, I think it was quite good we had the chance to do quite a few laps with Iker on the wet and I have to say that I was really impressed. I don’t know if it’s the Supermotard experience, but he likes the Michelin wet a lot, he likes the KTM RC16 a lot on the wet and I think he had a lot of fun and the lap time was really good, too. So, this was not a wasted day. Outside of that, we saw that the three rookies in the MotoGP class are quite fast and I believe that there will be an interesting fight next year. Sure, Iker will be full on to fight for the crown. Now it’s time to wish everyone a good winter break, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you to the whole team! Let’s have a good rest and see each member full of energy and well rested in Sepang.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
THE JEREZ TESTS OFFICIALLY CLOSE OUT THE MOTOGP SEASON
FINAL LAPS OF 2019 FOR ESPARGARÓ, IANNONE AND SMITH
Two days of tests in Jerez de la Frontera officially closed out the MotoGP season. The tests were partially marred by the weather, with rain falling on the Spanish track during the final session.
In Noale, work continues non-stop on the new 2020 RS-GP, a revamped project with the clear goal of marking a turning point for Aprilia. So, Aleix Espargaró, Andrea Iannone and Bradley Smith worked on the 2019 package, analysing new solutions, especially in terms of electronics, making progress from which the new prototype will be able to benefit.
The Spanish tests were also a chance for the new engineers who have embraced the Aprilia project to make their début, important reinforcements in anticipation of the new season that will start with the Sepang tests in February 2020.
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
ALEIX ESPARGARÒ
“The Jerez tests are more relevant than the Valencia tests because this is a more traditional and more indicative track. We continued working on the 2019 package with a few changes to the electronics, which is an area we are strengthening. Now the ball is in the Aprilia engineers’ court as they develop the 2020 prototype. The coming months will be crucial in achieving the objective of having the new bike on the track in Sepang.”
Andrea Iannone (29). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
ANDREA IANNONE
“Unfortunately, we were a bit limited during these two days, both because of the weather and because I arrived in Jerez with a fever. In any case, we found some interesting things to work on over the winter in order to show up in Sepang stronger than before. The work done by Michelin on the new tyres also seemed to go very well. I’ll stay in contact with the guys in Noale now to follow development of the new bike. It will be important for me to be able to make a step forward next season.”
Bradley Smith (38). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
BRADLEY SMITH
“Our programme here was not much different than the one in Valencia. We are gathering the final data that will allow the racing department to refine the 2020 bike. The weather wasn’t the best, especially on the second day, but we tried to provide as much information as possible, even lapping in the wet.”
More, from a press release release issued by Ducati:
Day 2 of MotoGP testing at Jerez is brought to an early end by the rain, with Dovizioso finishing sixth and Petrucci in twelfth
The rain that fell at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit late in the morning brought an early end to the final day of 2019 MotoGP testing for the riders of the Ducati Team.
Andrea Dovizioso (04). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci could in fact only complete five and ten laps respectively, without being able to carry on with today’s scheduled development work. Dovizioso set a best lap time of 1’37.986 while Petrucci lapped in a 1’38.452 after fitting the tyres he used yesterday.
Danilo Petrucci (9). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
The MotoGP World Championship will now begin a two-month winter break and the teams and riders will next be back on track at Sepang (Malaysia) from 7th to 9th February 2020 for the first official testing session of the new year.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Rain ends Jerez Test early for Repsol Honda Team
Midday rain meant the final day of testing in 2019 was cut short, teams making the most of the morning before the conditions worsened.
With the forecast looking bleak, Marc Marquez was among the first riders on track in Jerez as the final day of 2019 commenced. An early in the day 1’37.820 immediately had the World Champion atop the day’s timing table and second overall. More track time would have been welcomed as there is always more to test, but Marc and team are content with what has been accomplished since the flag dropped in the Valencia race.
Likewise, Alex Marquez was left wishing for better track conditions in order to improve his feeling on the RC213V. A best time of 1’39.224, set on the morning of the second day, leaves the 23-year-old as the fastest rookie of the test. The reigning Moto2 World Champion will now begin an intense off season to prepare himself for his debut in the premier class when the lights go out in Qatar.
Marc Marquez will now travel to Barcelona for an operation on his right shoulder at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron on Wednesday, November 27. The Repsol Honda Team rider has elected to have the operation as a preventative measure after medical consultation. The operation will be similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018.
The Repsol Honda Team will be back on track for the Sepang Test, February 07 to 09.
Marc Marquez
1’37.820
“Theses two days were very positive for us, working with the 2020 items we have and trying to find the right direction. On the first day we tried a lot of things and then today we started with the best of what we found yesterday. Unfortunately, we only did 20 laps before the rain came. It wasn’t wet enough to properly test in the wet and it certainly wasn’t dry. Now it’s time for the staff in HRC Japan to analyse everything.
“This winter I would have liked to have a nice holiday and enjoy a bit of quiet time after a great 2019 – but it is time to have surgery on the right shoulder. As everyone knows, last winter was very tough for me with the operation on the left shoulder, which was very, very damaged. I want to avoid the situation where my right shoulder is in this condition in the future so I spoke a lot with the doctors to see what our options were. Before Motegi I had some issues with the shoulder and then after the crash in Malaysia I had a subluxation. Here at the test I had another subluxation after the crash, so we decided with the doctors that it was best to have the surgery to avoid the situation we had with the other shoulder. It will take more or less the same time and we will work in the same way to arrive at the Malaysia test as strong as possible.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Alex Marquez
1’39.224
“The weather was like it was, which wasn’t perfect but in the morning we were able to make another step and improved our time on used tyres. This is good news for us. Like yesterday, when we put new tyres in it started to rain so this is still something we have to look at. We were able to try the bike a little bit in the wet and it felt good. I’m happy with this second day of testing even if there’s still a lot of work to do. I know what I need to do at home to be ready in Sepang.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Castrol Honda:
CRUTCHLOW BRINGS 2019 ACTION TO CLOSE AT DAMP JEREZ TEST
After the MotoGP racing season finished just over a week ago in Valencia, Cal Crutchlow today brought the curtain down on the on-track action for the LCR Honda CASTROL Team in 2019, by completing the second of two days testing in Jerez, Spain.
The Andalusian tests were hampered by rain on both days, but Crutchlow still managed to put in 66 laps on day one, before completing 14 on day two, with lap times from all riders mostly well behind those from the Spanish Grand Prix and subsequent test back in May.
MotoGP’s official testing ban begins this weekend, and runs until the beginning of February when Crutchlow will be back out at the Malaysian circuit at Sepang on the 7th. After three days there, he and the squad move on to Qatar for a further three-day test from the 22nd-24th February, ahead of the season-opener under lights at the same Losail circuit on 8th March.
Cal Crutchlow (35). Photo courtesy of LCR Honda Castrol.
Cal Crutchlow – 10th overall
(1’38.253 – 80 laps)
“On day one we did a short evaluation of a few parts with the 2019 bike. We were happy enough with how the day went. We couldn’t get too many laps because the weather wasn’t fantastic. On a normal test here we could probably do 100 laps in a day, but on the first day this time we only did 60-ish and today just 14. Overall, we’re happy with the work we managed to fit in”.
“Day two wasn’t too useful as regards our plans to make steps forward with the 2020 project. It’s a shame for everyone that the weather hasn’t been great, but we will work with the engineers in the factory over winter to make sure we have the best package available for the 2020 season.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
JEREZ TEST CONCLUSION BRINGS CALENDAR YEAR TO A CLOSE
Alex Rins: 2nd – 1:37.837 (+ 0.017)
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1:37.959 (+ 0.139)
Sylvain Guintoli: 16th – 1:38.962 (+ 1.142)
The second day of testing action at Circuit Angel Nieto in Jerez, Spain, allowed Team SUZUKI ECSTAR to draw useful final conclusions despite weather conditions bringing an early close to proceedings.
The riders continued their work on the 2020 spec. engine, completing evaluations ahead of the first 2020 test in Malaysia in February. All three riders once again reported positive findings from this engine.
Alex Rins put in a run of consistently quick laps which gave him added confidence, while Joan Mir spent some time working on electronics. Sylvain Guintoli also added his experienced feedback into the mix and reported that the testing plan is going very well.
However, the session was brought to an early close after steady rains struck Andalucia. December will see the usual ‘winter testing ban’ meaning Team SUZUKI ECSTAR will be back on track in the New Year.
Ken Kawauchi:
“Unfortunately, the second day didn’t allow us much dry track time, but this test combined with the Valencia test has allowed us to see how things are going for next year. We can see how our bike is starting to form, and the parts we’ve tried have confirmed our initial hopes. We’ve made a step – not a big step – but a sure step.”
Davide Brivio:
“We’ve finished this final test of the year in a good mood, the feedback from the riders about the engine has been positive, and this has meant we can decide on the spec. for next year. It’s been interesting and useful to go through other things such as electronics settings and general bike settings. Now that we’ve finalised the engine, in Sepang we’ll continue to work on other areas such as the chassis. The riders deserve some rest now after a long and good season; we’ll be ready for the New Year!”
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Alex Rins:
“These two days have been really nice because we confirmed a lot of things and we’re satisfied with the new engine. I only managed to do two runs in the dry, but I was very happy with my pace, I bettered my lap time from yesterday. I did three or four laps in the early 38s, as well as a fast lap of 1:37.837, and it felt good. Now it’s time for the winter break, and to come back fresh in the new year.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Joan Mir:
“We weren’t able to do a lot of laps today because of the conditions, but we still managed to work on the electronics areas, and this was positive because we noticed the difference. I set a strong lap, even after being out on track for a while. Overall, after four days of testing – two here and two in Valencia – the feeling is very positive and I’m already looking forward to coming back after the holidays.”
Sylvain Guintoli (50). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Today was a pretty short today, but we still managed to do almost everything we wanted to and everything we planned. 2019 has now drawn to a close and we’re so excited for next year because the 2020 spec. already looks really promising. The test team are doing more and more and our close bond with the factory side is going well, we’re seeing the results of this work.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
MOTOGP WORK WRAPS FOR 2019 AT RAINY JEREZ TEST
MotoGP 2020 IRTA test Jerez (ESP)
Red Bull KTM riders lapped a damp and cool Jerez circuit in southern Spain to complete their second 2020 pre-season test this week and close a hectic third year of MotoGP action.
Less than a week after the initial run-out for 2020 MotoGP at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia both Red Bull KTM and Red Bull KTM Tech3 were both back on-track but further south in the Iberian Peninsula and around the curves of Jerez.
Throughout Monday and Tuesday looming clouds threatened poor weather conditions and although some good work and laps were achieved on the first day, the second was largely washed out due to the wet climate.
Pol Espargaro ploughed ahead with work on the 2020 configuration of the KTM RC16 and maintained a steady position in the top ten of the fastest times. The Spaniard tried a new aerodynamic package on Monday. Teammate Brad Binder took advantage of both the dry and wet state of the course to continue his acclimatisation to the MotoGP race bike. Fellow rookie Iker Lecuona suffered a crash on Monday but was also eager to circulate whenever possible to gather information. Test rider Dani Pedrosa missed Monday through illness but logged some mileage at Jerez on Tuesday.
2019 preparations for KTM’s fourth season in the premier class are now complete and MotoGP enters a testing ‘blackout’ during December and January until the engines are started again at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in early February.
Pol Espargaro (44). Photo courtesy of KTM Images.
Pol Espargaro: “The last test of 2019 and we were not so lucky with the weather which mean we could not work as much as we wanted. Fortunately, we did some laps this morning when we felt quite good and we were just three tenths away from the top guy with ten laps on the tyre, which was important for consistency. Overall the pre-season has been very good. We did a lot and tested a lot of new stuff at Valencia and we have been fast. Now it’s time for the winter and after healing a little bit I will try to work harder than I did last year to try and come back in better shape. I’m already looking forward to trying the 2020 RC16 again in Malaysia.”
Brad Binder (33). Photo courtesy of KTM Images.
Brad Binder: “We decided to do a couple of laps when it was a little bit wet just to get the feeling of the new bike and that was really awesome. I’m glad I got a chance to experience that. It’s been difficult these last two tests. It hasn’t been easy to adapt to the new bike but I think I’ve got a lot to think about now in the off-season and hopefully we can try to make a step in Sepang. I think I just need to improve my riding; my feeling with the front a little bit and just being able to have confidence to put the bike where I want to, especially on the entry to corners. I think once I get that right the rest will fall into place.”
Iker Lecuona: “It was my first time in wet conditions and to be honest it was quite strange. I need more laps but finally I went quite fast. I liked the feeling, although I didn’t find the limit in every point. I’m happy, but not too much with some sectors. For next year, I know I need to work on my riding, on the brakes and picking up the bike but finally in the wet it all went quite well and in general, I’m very happy.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “Our wish was for two full days of testing but we know at this time of year the weather can be difficult. Actually, we were still able to confirm a lot of things we tried in Valencia. Generally we are happy and we can send our riders into the winter break fit – which is very important – and the technical summaries we made were also good. Pol worked further on a 2020 direction and we saw today, especially in the wet, that Brad is starting to get the feel for the MotoGP bike. It was nice to see. Pol worked well and found positive points of the new material but we are still not at the point where we can say ‘everything is fixed’, we have to go to Sepang and work hard there but the important information has come across and we can plan for Malaysia and Qatar. We’ll go home and reload the batteries a little bit and then keep pushing for next February.”
Sebastian Risse, Technical Director MotoGP: “In Valencia we introduced next year’s package and we mainly focussed on this here with Pol and Dani in terms of the changes, the strong points and generally how it rates. We also had some more engine development going on with different specs, and we understood how this can work on different tracks and how it can be a universal package for next year. There were also some ‘aero’ ideas that were not ready for Valencia but we could try it here and we got some good data: we are going into the winter thinking about we will put it together. We’ll also need to think carefully about logistics because we will have four riders on factory bikes next year so it will be quite a challenge in the next month. We leave here quite happy even if the weather was not that great today and stopped us a little bit.”
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
PETRONAS Yamaha SRT sign off 2019 with successful Jerez test
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli conclude team’s debut season with fourth and seventh at Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto
Jerez test – 26 November 2019
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli signed off their 2019 MotoGP campaign with a successful two-day test at Spain’s Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto, ending up fourth and seventh overall. Ending the second day early due to weather conditions, they still managed to gain valuable experience of new prototype parts as they both completed nearly 100 laps each over the test’s two days.
An early starter this morning after cold track temperature caused a delayed pit exit yesterday, conditions soon put paid to Quartararo being able to improve on his lap time. Completing only 26 laps compared to yesterday’s 68, his fastest time of 1min 37.964secs left him 0.153secs off P1 and fourth in the overall standings. Both Fabio and Franco were also able to return to the track in the afternoon to collect information on how their prototype Yamaha YZR-M1 engine reacted to wet track conditions.
Morbidelli’s day was equally disrupted by the rain, completing only 19 laps before calling it a day at Jerez. His best time of 1min 38.100secs left him 0.280secs from the top spot and seventh on overall times. Completing 75 laps yesterday as he tested a host of parts for next season, Franco and his team were able to gather plenty of data to be as best-prepared as possible when testing resumes in 2020.
Quartararo and Morbidelli will next return to track after the winter break at their home circuit, with the first pre-season test of 2020 set to get underway on 7th February at the Sepang International Circuit.
Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager:
“The first day of the test was quite positive for us, with nice weather allowing us to get a good idea of what the new components from Yamaha were doing. With the second day’s conditions being a little difficult we still need to work on the complete package to be ready for 2020, but we’ll have enough time to do that before the season starts in March.”
Franco Morbidelli (21). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Franco Morbidelli:
“Unfortunately we didn’t learn much today, because as soon as we had completed a shake-down in the morning it started to rain and we had to stop. We managed to complete some laps in the afternoon to check out how the engine was behaving in wet conditions, but that was the end of the day for us. I feel good with the prototype engine, which is a great start. Of course, there is still plenty of work to do because there are areas where we can be better, but the direction that Yamaha has taken has been the right one. We need to improve in the braking areas, but that’s something we can concentrate on at the next test in Sepang.”
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Fabio Quartararo:
“We weren’t able to gain much from today, because just as I was getting ready to really start working on the bike it began to rain. I did my best lap time of the day but it was already starting to rain, and it turned out to be the only chance that I got. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t test as much as we wanted to, although I was also able to complete five laps in the wet to check how the engine worked in those conditions and it was positive. The track wasn’t wet all the way around for long so it wasn’t too helpful to keep riding and risk injury. We still need to work on the power delivery of the bike because it’s different from the current bike’s, but the pace I was setting yesterday was promising. We need to complete more laps, but overall it’s been a successful test for us. Now I’ll enjoy the time off and come back fresh to try everything again in Malaysia.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA CONCLUDE 2019 TESTING WITH BRIGHT PROSPECTS DESPITE RAIN
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 26th November 2019
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi didn‘t have a lot of opportunity in the dry today at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto track to complete their Jerez Test programme. But although the available track time was cut short due to the rainy weather, they made it count. The team-mates both noticed positive changes and wrapped up the last 2019 IRTA test in 1st and 11th place respectively in the combined results.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’37.131s / 68 + 15 LAPS
11th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’38.352s / 64 + 33 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi had to deal with rain on the second day of 2020 pre-season testing at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, but they didn‘t let it dampen their spirits. The team-mates both beamed about the progress they made with the protype and new testing items and completed the Jerez Test in 1st and 11th place respectively in the combined Day 1-2 rankings.
Viñales had already adapted his testing style this year: riding less laps but going all out whilst focusing on tweaking specific areas rather than putting in as much laps as possible trying various changes at once. Unfortunately, due to today‘s rain, the test was wrapped up early. The conditions forced the Spaniard to be even more strict in choosing his priorities. He completed 15 laps and posted a best time of 1’37.964s on lap 9. This put him fourth in the Day-2 timesheets, 0.144s from first. His superb 1‘37.131s lap from yesterday kept him firmly in first place in the overall timesheets, with a 0.689s margin over second place.
Rossi set out in Jerez today to make a detailed comparison between the old and the new bike. He was quickly up to speed, but soon the rain spoiled his plans. The Doctor used the wet track conditions in the afternoon to his advantage to work with the new testing items in the cold and wet. He completed 33 laps in total. His best time was a 1’38.352s, 0.407s faster than his best from yesterday and set on only his tenth lap of the day. This put him in 10th place in today’s standings, 0.532s from first, and in 11th position in the combined results, 1.221s from the top.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
“As said in Valencia last week, the target of this test was to evaluate the new bike and also to get the same confirmation we got there, and so far, apart from the rain, the information we got was basically more or less the same. Maverick has been quicker with the new bike, so for sure the starting point, the base of this new bike, is working. Saying that, we still have work to do for the first race, but for me, when I look back to when we tried new items in the last two years, we never reached this point. I can see that it‘s promising. The riders are always looking for more, but what we were looking for was increasing the smoothness and increasing the top speed gradually, and we did. The area where we should try to make another step is top speed, and I am confident that we will achieve this.”
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“Actually, I felt really good on the bike, riding in a really good way. Yesterday, I felt fantastic on all the laps and that is the most important. I end the 2019 season with a great feeling and a lot of motivation, and that keeps you going when preparing for the new season. Yamaha is working really hard, but we‘re still working on top speed. For sure in other areas we‘re quite strong, but we need to stay focused on improving our weaker areas for the next test in Sepang.”
Valentino Rossi. Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
VALENTINO ROSSI
“It‘s a shame about the weather today. It was an important day because we had to work on making a comparison between the new and the old bike, so we had a good program, but, unfortunately, we did only ten laps on the dry, and after that we did some laps on the wet. But the feeling is positive, a lot better than yesterday. On the dry I was a lot faster. I improved my best lap time from the day before already after three laps, and today I was more competitive. After the rain we did some work on the new bike on the wet, and it wasn‘t so bad, but it was only half a day.”
The racebikes of Mojo Yamaha Team USA are on their way to Australia in preparation for the 2020 International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Mojo Yamaha Team USA leader Dave Crussell took the accompanying photo Sunday, before loading his fleet of Yamahas into a shipping container, which was picked up today.
“What you’re looking at there is the Mojo Yamaha team for the International Island Classic,” Crussell told Roadracingworld.com Monday. “What we have there is five CMR F1 chassis with big FJ1200/1300 engines in them and two Yamaha TZ750s.”
Identifying the motorcycles in the photo starting at the far left, Crussell said, “The #17 TZ750 is mine. Then the black bike is a CMR FJ that will be ridden by Taylor Knapp. The next one is another TZ750, and that one will be ridden by Melissa Paris. The number four bike at the back is a CMR FJ, and that’s Josh Hayes’ bike, the one he used to win Race Four in 2019. The next one around in the orange and white is another CMR FJ, and that one is going to be ridden by Jordan Szoke. The next one is the blue bike, another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Larry Pegram. And the last one, in bumble bee yellow, is another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Michael Gilbert.”
Asked about his thoughts and expectations ahead of the vintage racing event, Crussell said, “I think we have the strongest team we’ve ever had. I think our bikes are better than they were last year.
“This has been a journey for us. Every year we’ve invested in riders and invested in bikes. We’ve put a lot of efforts into our bikes this year. We’ve done a lot of testing through the year. We tested at Willow Springs, Chuckwalla, and at Miller [Utah Motorsports Campus].
“We’ve really been listening to the riders about how they sit on the bike, the ergonomics of the riding positions, the weight bias. And we’ve also worked on getting all of the bikes upgraded with more power, more revs, and making them generally faster all around.”
For more information on the International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island, go to www.islandclassic.com.au.
Featured In the November 2019 issue of Roadracing World:
Michio “Mitch” Arai says he started riding motorcycles when he was about seven years old, taught by his father Hirotake in about 1945—74 years ago. He’s still riding now, at age 81. More than that, he’s still working more than full-time running the company, started by his father Hirotake, that bears his family’s name, Arai Helmet.
Hirotake “Hiro” Arai started making motorcycle helmets in 1950. He was already a self-taught hat maker who made helmets (hard-hats) for miners and construction workers after World War II. He was riding a motorcycle, and decided to adapt one of the helmets he was already making, to protect his own head when he was riding.
It soon attracted the attention of riders and race organizers, who asked Hiro Arai to make and sell a helmet specifically designed for motorcycle riding. That, Mitch says, was the start of the motorcycle helmet industry in Japan …
—Shops: Arai Helmet Headquarters, by John Ulrich
Arai builds about 240,000 helmets a year, all designed according to the company’s philosophy of making helmets that do the best possible job of managing impact energy. Mitch Arai says he sees himself as a racer–leading the race to provide better protection for motorcyclists by building better helmets. The story of Arai Helmet is in the November issue of Roadracing World!
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology is THE definitive source for motorcycle racing, riding, and tech information.
PREVIEW the November 2019 issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology!
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technologymagazine is available in print and digital formats. SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR INSTANT ACCESS!
Log in or subscribe HERE. Or call (909) 654-4779, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Visit www.roadracingworld.com daily for breaking news and events.
Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/roadracingworld
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com @roadracingworld
Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com @roadracing_world
Best Race Lap Record: 1:38.051, Marc Marquez, 2019
All-Time Lap Record: 1:36.880, Fabio Quartararo, 2019
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuito De Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
November 25, 2019
Day One Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.131
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.885
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:38.012
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:38.089
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.117
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.227
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.253
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.348
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.358
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.474
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.492
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.500
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.751
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.759
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.103
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:39.148*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.412
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.588*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.652*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.933
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.980
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:43.056*
*test rider
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Eric Granado will ride a Ducati GP18 in the Jerez Test
After a great season finale with two excellent victories in the MotoE category, the Reale Avintia Racing Team will reward the Brazilian rider Eric Granado by giving him the opportunity to ride the Ducati GP18 during the test that will take place this week at the Jerez circuit .
It must be remembered that, despite a challenging start to the year, Granado concluded the first MotoE season in a meritorious third position overall, overcoming the adversities that had to face throughout the year.
Our desire as a team is to offer the riders of our structure what they deserve and this is a great opportunity to see the potential and feelings of this young pilot in MotoGP.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Viñales picks up where he left off at Jerez
The Spaniard leads Quartararo once again, but this time it’s Mir and Rins on the chase
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Monday, 25 November 2019
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) topped Day 1 of the Jerez Test by quite a margin on Monday, the Spaniard ending the session over seven tenths clear of the next fastest: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was third and continued his impressive run on the testing timesheets, pipping teammate Alex Rins as the Hamamatsu factory locked out third and fourth. The day was punctuated by some drizzle and Red Flags, although the majority managed nearly or over 50 laps.
Yamaha have now topped all three days of ‘2020’ so far, once with Quartararo and twice with Viñales. At Jerez, both the former and latter did 68 laps, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in fifth adding another 75. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, did 64 laps and was 14th. He and teammate Viñales had one ‘new’ and one ‘old’ Yamaha in the garage to compare, with Rossi’s 2020 machine fitted with the carbon swingarm but Viñales content without it, working on the engine. Neither Petronas Yamaha SRT rider had the carbon swingarm on Monday, although they had “some new things” to test.
At Suzuki, meanwhile, work continued on the new engine. Mir had the upper hand on the timsheets in third after 56 laps, with teammate Rins putting in 69 in fourth. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli was also on track for the Hamamatsu factory, and he put 63 laps to pip his fellow test riders and end the day in 16th. It wasn’t all engine for Suzuki, but that was the key focus.
Honda were the next factory up, with reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in sixth despite a crash at Turn 13. It was a slow lowside but in the gravel trap he hit his shoulder, heading to the Medical Centre for a check up. He’d suffered a partially dislocated right shoulder – not the one on which he had surgery this time last year – and did get back out on track but said he slowed up slightly. He had three bikes in the garage. And where Marquez was focusing on 2020 comparisons, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was more on 2019 machinery on Monday. He was just 0.026 behind Marquez and put in 66 laps.
Rookie Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, was out in HRC and Repsol colours, and he seemed to take a step forward. The number 73 was 17th and did 70 laps, saying he found Jerez a bigger step on a MotoGP™ bike – but also an easier one.
Pol Espargaro (44). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
KTM were the fourth fastest factory on Monday with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the number 44 slotting in behind Marquez and Crutchlow on the timesheets. He did 56 laps and although he took a tumble – rider ok. He had three bikes in the garage, one ‘old’ and two ‘new’, although he spent his time out on the new. He did 56 laps and was within a tenth of Crutchlow. Rookie teammate Brad Binder, meanwhile, remained on 2019 machinery and did 67 laps. Red Bull KTM Tech 3 rookie Iker Lecuona had a huge crash on Monday, but rider ok, and he did 38 laps. Test rider Dani Pedrosa was absent due to illness.
Ducati’s onslaught on the timesheets was led by Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), back n action after missing some of Valencia due to shoulder pain, who narrowly headed teammate Andrea Dovizioso as they took P9 and P10. The former did 48 laps and the latter 45. Dovizioso had the new, bigger ‘salad box’ and work continued on what the duo had worked on at Valencia. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was only 0.018 off ‘Dovi’ in 11th. Test rider Michele Pirro had a technical issue and that caused a Red Flag, and a sensor was spotted on top of the tail unit on his machine.
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini were 12th and 13th, and nothing big was seen from the Noale factory although both Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone had the swingarm with a hole in it fitted. Espargaro did 53 laps and Iannone 49. Test rider Bradley Smith had the ‘solid’ version of the swingarm and did 67 laps.
What will we see on Day 2? Check out motogp.com for coverage, interviews and more – and catch up on everything from Monday with After the Flag.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Lecuona continues MotoGP learning curve in Jerez
This week Red Bull KTM Tech3 is back on track at the Circuito de Jerez with Iker Lecuona further testing the KTM RC16, after he made a successful debut at the finale Grand Prix of the season 2019, plus showed some more progress during the official Valencia test last week. The Spaniard completed another solid day, being at this venue for the first time in the premier class, lapping the track 38 times with a fastest lap of 1:39.933 minutes.
Iker Lecuona (41). Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 20th
Time: 1:39.933
Laps: 38
“Jerez is a very difficult track on the MotoGP bike, it’s not easy to go fast here and have a good feeling on the bike. For sure, I need more laps tomorrow in order to get more kilometers in. At the moment, I finished 2.802 seconds from the top, which is obviously too much. After the crash, I feel a bit bruised, but overall, I’m ok. This circuit is definitely completely different to what we had in Valencia, so I need to further adapt myself and I can’t wait to be back on the bike tomorrow.”
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
“This was an early end of day one in Jerez for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team. Already this morning, we understood that Dani Pedrosa was not at his best, was feeling quite sick and said that he will try to stay calm in the morning and eventually come back in the afternoon, but it looks like that didn’t work and he is still trying to recover, so hopefully he’ll be testing tomorrow, although the weather forecast is not very positive for Tuesday. On Iker’s side, everything started quite well. The weather was cold without any rain, but quite a lot humidity in the air and we started with the soft option tyres, just slowly to try to understand the Jerez circuit, which is very demanding, very tough to learn and to go fast with the MotoGP bike, plus quite different to Valencia. Until the lunch break, everything went very well, each single run was quicker than the one before and we ended up breaking the 1:40 barrier, which was good. Unfortunately, straight after the lunch break, Iker was on his third lap, I believe, and did a very slow lap and then followed another rider the lap after. But when it’s like this, the tyre temperature drops quite a lot in this weather condition and on the first left corner, which is turn four, he crashed. He is a bit bruised everywhere, but nothing is broken, so he came back without any physical consequences, the bike is not too damaged, but all together we decided to put an end to the day. It’s always a pity to do not as many laps as you could have done, because we know it’s the last test of the year and Iker is a rookie. But anyway, we did a few interesting laps and hopefully tomorrow we can stay away from the rain and have two riders on track, enjoying their very last 2019 day of testing before going for a well-deserved break. So, let’s wait and see tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
Productive day at Jerez test for Quartararo and Morbidelli
Second and fifth for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT duo Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli after opening day of action at Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto
Jerez test – 25 November 2019
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli made a productive start to their final test of the 2019 season for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, finishing the day’s action at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto second and fifth despite a late start and early bath this evening as weather conditions worked against them.
Taking to the track at 1130 despite the circuit opening at 1000 thanks to the cool conditions this morning, Quartararo was quick to move to the upper end of the timing sheets and spent the rest of the day there. Just losing out to fellow Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales in the afternoon, Quartararo finished up with strong pace testing a prototype version of the Yamaha YZR-M1 engine for next year. Completing 68 laps of the Spanish track, Fabio’s best time was a 1min 37.885secs, 0.754secs down on Viñales.
After concentrating on chassis development at last week’s Valencia test, Morbidelli also got the day underway using an updated version of the engine that the team used during the 2019 season – and finding improvements with it from the off this morning. Despite a crash towards the end of the day that left him unhurt, the fastest of Morbidelli’s 75 laps left him fifth overall, 0.986secs down on the leader, with a time of 1min 38.117secs.
Testing action continues tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto, with the green flag being shown at 1000 local time (1700 Malaysian time) and the chequered flag bringing 2019’s action to an end eight hours later at 1800 (0100 Malaysian time).
Franco Morbidelli (21). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Franco Morbidelli:
“I tried a new prototype engine specification today, and we were up to speed quite quickly with it. I had a good feeling from the bike straight away, which is very positive. We’ve still got to collect data and work on our settings, but as a first impression, it was pretty great! The plan for tomorrow is to maintain the working routine from today and aim to reconfirm the items we tried in Valencia with the new engine, but for that to happen we need the weather to play ball!”
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Fabio Quartararo:
“It was a long day despite having great pace on the bike and we were able to try new things. The tyres were working really well, but unfortunately, it seems like every time we put a new set on the bike there was a red flag or it started to rain a little! Maverick Viñales is really fast, but we’re not far behind him and I’m feeling really good. We used a new prototype engine from Yamaha for most of the day, but it was difficult to understand all the benefits from just one day, so there’s plenty to continue with tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Testing continues in Jerez for the Repsol Honda Team
With another 139 laps completed; the Repsol Honda Team made the most of valuable track time as the final test session of 2019 commences.
Joining the on-track action shortly after 11am Local Time, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez began the final test of 2019 in Jerez. The goal for this last test is to gather the final bits of data ahead of the winter testing ban in order for the 2020 RC213V to be well prepared for the Sepang test in early February 2020.
Marc Marquez continued to work on the various new components of the Repsol Honda Team RC213V and completed 69 laps around the 4.4km long Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. As in Valencia, lap times were not the focus for the eight-time World Champion as he worked towards defending his premier class crown. A best time of 1’38.227 saw Marc end the first day in sixth position. The reigning champion suffered a crash at Turn 13 but was able to return to track.
The Jerez test allowed rookie Alex Marquez to try the RC213V on a new circuit as he continued to learn the intricacies of a MotoGP machine. With the second test so close to the end of the Valencia test, there was little time to make major changes in his preparation, but Alex was again happy with what he was able to learn about the bike. 70 laps later, Alex ended the day with a best time of 1’39.413 – just over a second back on his teammate. The time saw him finish the day as the leading rookie.
Both Repsol Honda Team riders will be back out Tuesday, November 26 for one final day of running.
Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Marc Marquez
SIXTH 1’38.227
“Again today we tried some different things for 2020, assessing two different directions. It looks like tomorrow the weather could be a little bit tricky, so we had to alter our plan a little bit to make sure we got the most out of today. This part of the season is very important, so we have to stay very focused here and keep working. The crash today was my mistake, I ran wide and at that time the outside of the track was a little damp so I lost the front. Fortunately I am OK, I just went to the medical centre for a precautionary check.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Alex Marquez
17TH 1’39.413
“Today we tried to improve and close the distance to the front while learning how to work with my team for next year. Throughout the day we were able to make steady improvements and I was able to work a lot with used tyres, to understand how I need to change my riding to make the most out of them. We didn’t fit any new tyres at the end as it started raining a little bit, but I am happy. I think today went better than both days in Valencia as I was more comfortable right away.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA CONTINUE POSITIVE PROGRESS ON JEREZ TEST DAY 1
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were back in action today, this time at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto track, to take their 2020 pre-season testing programme another step further. The team-mates secured 1st and 14th place respectively in the Day-1 timesheets whilst confirming the positive outcome of the Valencia Test one week earlier.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’37.131s / 68 LAPS
14th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’38.759s / 64 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi travelled from the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo to the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto to commence the next stage in their 2020 pre-season testing program. Following last week‘s IRTA test, the team-mates were keen on trying the protype and new items once more at the Jerez MotoGP Official Test. Their findings confirmed the improvements made, and they completed the first day in 1st and 14th place respectively in the rankings.
The riders were kept on their toes during the eight-hour session. Occasional rain meant they had to make the most of the dry track time to work on their YZR-M1s.
Viñales swung his leg over the bike for the first time in Jerez at 11 o‘clock to complete yet more kilometres in preparation for the 2020 season. The Spaniard found a good rhythm again and began chipping away at his time whilst comparing various testing items. He completed 68 laps in total familiarising himself with the new engine and showed no signs of slowing down. He posted a best time of 1’37.131s on lap 60, consolidating his place at the top of the standings with a convincing 0.754s-margin over his closest rival.
Rossi took to the Jerez track half an hour after his team-mate, eager to further improve the prototype while concentrating on the setting and overall performance of his Yamaha. The Doctor‘s first impressions are positive, though he is still working on the bike’s stability in fast corners. He completed 64 laps in total. His best time was a 1’38.759s, set on lap 59 at the end of his penultimate run. This time put him in 14th place in today’s standings, 1.628s from first.
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“We are working a lot on the new engine trying to understand the positives and negative points of the new bike. This test is quite important for us to decide on the engines and take the right approach to further improve the engine on the track, which is our focus here. We are trying to understand the best way to work. For tomorrow my plan is the same. I need to make laps with the engine, and I also need to try the tyres, and then we will see. Even if it rains, we need to go out and try the newer stuff. For sure, we are comparing the old and new items back-to-back. The positive point is that I felt good with both bikes today, so we have two good choices, which is even better. I feel we can create a lot of potential with the new engine.”
Valentino Rossi (46). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
VALENTINO ROSSI
“We worked a lot today, even though the weather conditions weren‘t fantastic. Every now and then we had some rain, we had to stop and start like this, but the track conditions were quite good anyway. We worked a lot on the new bike and made another comparison with the old one, and the feeling isn‘t too bad. Some things were better, and we also have some areas where we need to work.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Day 1 of MotoGP testing concludes at Jerez with Petrucci ninth and Dovizioso tenth
The first day of MotoGP testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain came to an end this afternoon at 17h00. The Ducati Team riders went out on track for the first time late in the morning to continue development work on the 2020 version of the Desmosedici GP bikes and they were able to lap continuously until the early afternoon, when intermittent light rain hampered the activities of all the teams present at the Andalusian track.
“It was quite a challenging day for me, because I still wasn’t entirely sure about my physical condition. My left shoulder, which was hurting me a lot at Valencia, gave me a bit of bother this morning: in the afternoon however I was better and we were able to carry out some back-to-back tests, without aiming for fast times. We mainly focussed on getting a better understanding of the new solutions present on the bike, and we certainly managed to obtain some useful indications for the future”.
Andrea Dovizioso (04). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1’38.474 (10th) – 45 laps
“Today we were able to carry out the back-to-back comparison between the two bikes, in a much better way than at Valencia, and this was important because Jerez is a track with very different characteristics. The feedback was certainly positive, but we will have to take a closer more detailed look at all the information we accumulated and make a major effort to understand which direction to take for the next development stage”.
The Ducati Team will be back on track again tomorrow at the Jerez circuit for the second and final testing day of the year.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR CONTINUES WORK TOWARDS 2020 IN JEREZ
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1:38.012 (+ 0.881)
Alex Rins: 4th – 1:38.089 (+ 0.958)
Sylvain Guintoli: 16th – 1:39.148 (+ 2.017)
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR headed down south and took to the track again less than a week after the Valencia Test, this time at the circuit of Jerez.
Alex Rins and Joan Mir were joined by Sylvain Guintoli and the rest of the test team as they continued their preparations for the 2020 season. The majority of the track action was spent as a continuation of the Valencia Test; comparing the 2019 and 2020 engine specifications. They also worked on electronics and general set-up, with a view to building up the package ahead of the Sepang Test in February. Guintoli also spent some time with a new swing arm and adjusting other aspects of the chassis.
Mir finished the session in 3rd place, having done 56 laps, while Rins was just behind in 4th, completing 69 laps. Sylvain Guintoli closed the session 16th with a total of 63 laps.
Davide Brivio:
“Today has been good. It’s very important to use this test to check our 2020 engine spec. at a different circuit, and we were able to try some different settings too. The riders gave us positive feedback, and we were able to confirm the initial feelings from Valencia. We tried to get all of the most important things done today incase tomorrow is too wet.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office.
Joan Mir:
“I’m really happy because I felt we made some improvements today. We focused on the engine and also on electronics; I also tried some new parts which helped my feel even more. I’m feeling comfortable and happy with the bike. Let’s hope the weather will be OK tomorrow so we can continue this good work.”
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office.
Alex Rins:
“Today’s test session went quite well. We tried the same things as in Valencia, like the 2020 engine spec., and we confirmed our initial findings. Tomorrow we’ll try a few more things regarding the set-up. We had some more plans for today, such as trying a fast lap with the new tyre, but unfortunately the rain arrived this afternoon and that hampered our progress.”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Today we worked on next year’s engine, as well as some chassis work such as the swing arm. I also did some long runs and tried the new spec. Michelin rear tyre, which I found to be very good. My lap times were strong today, I did my best lap of Jerez today. Looking forward to tomorrow, fingers crossed conditions are OK.”
VonHertell Racing Services and Suspension 2019 Season Thanks
VonHertell Racing Services would like to thank all of its racers across the United States and Mexico for a great year in racing. VonHertell racers won many Championships and set some records during the 2019 season. Notable racers on VonHertell custom Traxxion AK20 forks with a VonHertell Frankenshock include RaceBike Mexico 400 National Champion Victor Perez De Leon and Dunlop Invitational 300 Champion, Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association Ultra Lightweight #1 plate holder, 300 Superbike and 300 Supersport Champion Maximum Johnson. VonHertell also scored the top 3 podium spots for the season in several classes in the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association Championship.
500 SuperBike
1st – Jesse Smartt
3rd – Maximum Johnson
5th – Manny Poulis
500 GP
2nd – Maximum Johnson
5th – Manny Poulis
300 Superbike
1st – Maximum Johnson
3rd – Manny Poulis
300 Superstock
1st – Maximum Johnson
3rd – Manny Poulis
250 Superbike
2nd – John McKenzie
250 Superstock
3rd John McKenzie
300 SuperStock Endurance Champions – HBR
UltraLightweight Endurance
2nd Overall – HBR
4th Overall – Team FellOnKnee
8th Overall – Atomic Ham Badger
D Superstock Nov
1st – Brandon Clark
2nd – Topher Simmons
3rd – James Hanson
A Superbike Novice
3rd- Al Lopez
B Superbike Novice
4th – Al Lopez
D Superbike Novice
1st – Topher Simmons
4th – Brandon Clark
Lightweight twins Novice
1st – Brandon Clark
2nd – Topher Simmons
3rd – James Hanson
Formula 2 Novice
1st – Topher Simmons
3rd – Tamara Smith
Formula 40 Middleweight Novice
1st – Al Lopez
500 Superstock Novice
3rd – Ben Avila
4th – David Hawes
500 Superbike Novice
1st – Branden Chaisorn
2nd – Brandon Clark
3rd – James Hanson
500 GP Novice
3rd – Ben Avila
4th – David Hawes
300 Superbike Novice
2nd – Brandon Clark
4th – James Hanson
5th – Topher Simmons
300 Superstock Novice
1st – Branden Chaisorn
2nd – Brandon Clark
3rd – James Hanson
VonHertell is a motorcycle suspension specialist in San Antonio, Texas. We build roadrace, flat track and track day motorcycles and specialize in chassis and suspension service for ancient and modern motorcycles.
Editorial Note: The following is an open letter issued by the Corporate Partnership Team of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to track sponsors and exhibitors.
Dear WeatherTech Raceway Partners,
As you may have heard by now, on Nov. 19th Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to replace long-time track operator SCRAMP as the managing body for our storied facility. In 2017 the Board of Supervisors granted SCRAMP a 3-year agreement in hopes that the struggling organization could get itself back on track with some directive. Unfortunately for the 62-year old organization, its continued financial misgivings and mass exodus of top-level staff were key factors for the change in management. The County has selected A&D Narigi Consulting as the new Facility Management Group beginning Jan. 1, 2020. Principal, John Narigi, brings a strong hospitality industry background to the table coupled with an impeccable business acumen. Narigi intends to retain many of the current staff, including facilities, operations, ticketing, souvenirs and marketing. Our team that oversees Sponsorship, Sales, Hospitality, and Exhibitors/Vendors, has already been aligned with the County since January 2019.
There has been great care and discussion already with the leaders of the volunteer organizations who have built this amazing facility. The volunteers are the life-blood of this facility and everyone is fully appreciated for their dedication to the raceway. New management is making sure the volunteers know how much the County is committed to improving the facility they have helped build over the decades while communicating how much they recognize the volunteers’ hard work and dedication supporting the facility.
Looking Forward:
We want all our valued Partners, Exhibitors, and Sponsors to know that we do not foresee any changes that will negatively impact our respected clients, but rather support a positive shift in customer experience, continued facility improvements, and strengthened events and attendance. The County has put in over $5.5M in improvements and another $1.3M in new equipment over the past two years. There are plans for a $20M capital improvement project to kick off in 2021 with the revitalization of the Paddock.
We also understand that there may be questions you have concerning this transition so we have taken the liberty of answering what we think may be commonly asked questions below.
Q: Will we be working directly with someone new?
A: No. You will be working directly with the same Exhibitor Services team as before. We may be adding to the team in the near future, but the core will remain unchanged to deliver consistency.
Q: Will renewals and preferred Exhibitor Locations be honored?
A: Yes. As always, we will do our absolute best to honor previous locations based on the submission of agreements and deposits by any outlined deadlines as our normal process.
Q: Will this effect pricing in 2020 and beyond?
A: As any business, the cost of doing business is dictated by many factors and we cannot guarantee that pricing will always stay the same, but we are confident that are fees will be competitive and fair. Although we are still in the process finalizing the agreements for distribution, we hope to have them to you within the next few weeks.
Q: Does this change affect the Race Season Calendar?
A: No. As always, our Event Schedule is influenced by many factors, but our goal is to offer as many quality events as possible and continue to work with Sanctioning Bodies and Promoters to bring the best racing and events to our globally recognized facility.
2020 Race Season Calendar:
· May 1-3, Trans Am SpeedFest
· July 12-14, Motorcycle Event (TBD featured series)
· July 24-26, Ferrari Racing Days
· August 13-16, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
· September 11-13, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
· September 18-20, Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
We understand that there may be additional questions you may have so we encourage you to reach out if needed and as always, we are here to help.
We look forward to another great race season in 2020 and truly appreciate your partnership!
Sincerely,
Your WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Corporate Partnership Team
TWO NEW SPECIALS BASED ON THE CALIFORNIAN MANUFACTURER ZERO MOTORCYCLES
E-Racer Motorcycle presents two new Specials based on Zero Motorcycles: the Edge, a Zero SR / F Cafe Racer and the RUGGED Mark2 based on Zero FXS which will be officially in production and ready for sales from spring 2020.
A Zero-based E-Racer “Edge” electric motorcycle. Photo courtesy of E-Racer Motorcycles.
E-Racer EDGE
The Hypersport ZERO SR/F Cafe Racer
Born on the basis of the new Zero Motorcycles SR/F, the Edge has been customized and evolved in three different parts: the front headlight, the side tank area and the passenger’s tail. The bodywork is reversible and it can be mounted without making changes to the original model in terms of structure. In fact, the new equipment can be fitted on the base model preserving its homologation.
The design of the Edge is brought to the essential. The result is a lighter bike than the original version. On an aesthetic level, the livery emphasizes a mix of classic and sport-modern: the tank, partially transformed, is more compact and muscular, the front headlight, a full-led unit, is minimal. The superbike semi-handlebars, the handmade saddle with exclusive hand-stitched texture, the full CNC-machined steering plate, the racing wave brakes and rear AirTender regressive suspension system complete the list of primary changes.
The front full-Led unit, only 7cm in diameter, is composed of a single headlight with three different functions: position light, low beam and high beam. The “sight” of the bike is characterized by two LED day lights. All the components are produced in Germany and fully homologated.
The painting, between the rider legs and under-saddle area is reinforced with LineX, an extremely resistant armor paint, formerly a military patent, which makes the parts scratch resistent.
The E-Racer Audio-Forceback system – E-RAF
For the E-Racer team the design is not enough if it doesn’t evolve the functions, so we asked ourselves: could we improve the safety and driving performance of such a powerful electric motorcycle?
Increasing performance requires more security that’s why we have worked in this field combining the resources of our partners. Sound engineers, audio system experts and programmers worked to develop a dedicated app and hardware to meet this need. The E-Racer Audio-Forceback – E-RAF – will be available for all our customers.
The Audio-Forceback (E-RAF) is composed of an integrated hardware controlled by a BT App to produces high and low frequencies sound waves with a dual function. The first function is to warn pedestrians and other road users of the presence of the electric vehicle’s presence. As the low frequencies are easily audible in the distance, the trebles are more audible in the proximity and helps to understand the direction of the incoming vehicle.
The second function is to provide a force-feedback to the rider. The subsonic speaker produces vibrations that changes according to the speed of the motorcycle to give the rider a sensorial feel of the performance.
PRICES & DELIVERY
The price of the EDGE starts from 6.000 euro + motorcycle price
The first 5 units, entirely made to meet the specifications required by the pre-order customers will be delivered by spring 2020.
Tech Specs
MAX POWER 110 hp (82 kW)
MAX TORQUE 190 Nm
MAX SPEED 200 km/h
CHARGING TIME 1 hour (95% charged)
RANGE City: 259 km – Highway (speed 113 km/h) 132 km
WEIGHT 220 Kg
BODY Kevlar and carbon fiber, 3d printed nylon, Eco leather and Alcantara® Seat with tailored seams
MOTOR Z-Force 75-10 permanent magnet AC motor
INPUT Standard 110 V or 220 V
TRANSMISSION Clutchless direct drive
BATTERY 14.4 kWh
REGENERATIVE BRAKE
– The E-Racer EDGE is a Zero SR/F special, for more technical features visit: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-srf/
– For info about the AirTender regressive suspension system visit: https://airtender.it
A Zero-based E-Racer “Rugged” electric motorcycle. Photo courtesy of E-Racer Motorcycles.
E-Racer RUGGED Mark2
360° LIFE PROOF ZERO FXS SPECIAL
Presented at Eicma 2018 as a prototype, the Rugged (based on Zero FXS) has been re-engineered and optimized to officially go into production and will be available for the first customers in spring 2020.
One of the main feature of the Rugged is the auxiliary aluminum frame with side rings to be tied / towed or hoisted on boats or pickups. Originally the Zero FXS was a military purposes motorcycle, with the E-Racer upgrade this attitude has been emphasized.
The front and back light are full LED and homologated result of the German experience in the most advanced LED technologies, like the front headlight, consisting of two polyellipsoidal micro units of just 4cm in width.
Compared to the original model the RUGGED has an underseat storage compartment accessible thanks to a mechanism that uses hydraulic pistons anchored to a laser-cut aluminum structure with the backlit RUGGED logo. In the underseat there is a double usb socket as well as a illuminated room large enough to contain a rain jacket or a 15m charging cable very useful for occasional recharges in restaurants, shops or private homes where a nearby power outlet is not available.
To make the charging procedure even easier, the socket has also been positioned in the compartment in order to protect it from the bad weather and dirt.
The saddle, long and flat to comfortably carry 3 people is handmade enriched with an exclusive hand-stitched texturethe designed by the E-Racer design team.
One of the “missions” for which the RUGGED is designed is to be a land tender for large boats, which is why the idea of transporting 3 or 4 people, material or equipment are part of this project.
The RUGGED is equipped with 12 small “Eagle Eye” led lights that allow the rider to have a perimetral 360° illuminated view at night, very useful when riding at night in difficult terrain.
The whole bike has been treated with Line X, an extremely resistant armor paint, a former military patent, which makes this bike incredibly resistant to the adversity of the city as an extreme off-road use. Thats way we sey that the RUGGED is a life proof motorcycle.
The E-Racer Audio-Forceback system – E-RAF
For the E-Racer team the design is not enough if it doesn’t evolve the functions, so we asked ourselves: could we improve the safety and driving performance of such a powerful electric motorcycle?
Increasing performance requires more security that’s why we have worked in this field combining the resources of our partners. Sound engineers, audio system experts and programmers worked to develop a dedicated app and hardware to meet this need. The E-Racer Audio-Forceback – E-RAF – will be available for all our customers.
The Audio-Forceback (E-RAF) is composed of an integrated hardware controlled by a BT App to produces high and low frequencies sound waves with a dual function. The first function is to warn pedestrians and other road users of the presence of the electric vehicle’s presence. As the low frequencies are easily audible in the distance, the trebles are more audible in the proximity and helps to understand the direction of the incoming vehicle.
The second function is to provide a force-feedback to the rider. The subsonic speaker produces vibrations that changes according to the speed of the motorcycle to give the rider a sensorial feel of the performance.
PRICES & DELIVERY
The price of the EDGE starts from 6.000 euro + motorcycle price
The first 5 units, entirely made to meet the specifications required by the pre-order customers will be delivered by spring 2020.
Tech Specs
MAX POWER 46 hp (34 kW)
MAX TORQUE 106 Nm
MAX SPEED 137 km/h
CHARGING TIME With max accessory chargers: 1.8 hours (100% charged) / 1.3 hours (95% charged)
RANGE City: 161 km – Highway, 113 km/h: 64 km
WEIGHT 136 Kg
FRAME Aircraft-grade
WHEELS front 120/70-17 – Rear 140/70 x 17
BODY Kevlar and carbon fiber, 3d printed nylon, Eco leather and Alcantara® Seat with tailored seams
– The E-Racer EDGE is a Zero SR/F special, for more technical features visit: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fxs/
– For info about the AirTender regressive suspension system visit: https://airtender.it
For the seventh consecutive season, in 2020 AHRMA will host a full season of electric motorcycle road racing.
The Formula Lightning (formerly eMotoRacing) series will be highlighted by the June 19-21 ‘Varsity Challenge’ held at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. At NJMP collegiate engineering teams from the USA and Canada will vie for a scholarship award in a two round event.
AHRMA’s Formula Lightning classes have invited production and prototype ebikes for the past six years. The MotoE World Cup spec class just completed its first season, and shows good promise.
The eleven race series is held at tracks all across America.
The Formula LightningSM (formerly eMotoRacing) series is the PREMIER zero emissions motorcycle road racing series in the US. This means, if your race bike emits no exhaust while going around the track, you can use any means of propulsion you like; such as electricity, magnetism, gravity, flywheels, springs, etc. We welcome both stock and custom-built electric motorcycles, and innovations such as harnessing kinetic energy are encouraged.
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Ltd. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and competing on historic motorcycles and under-represented modern motorcycles. With over 3000 members, AHRMA is the leading vintage racing group in North America and one of the largest in the world. The association’s enthusiastic membership reflects this country’s strong interest in classic bikes.
Alex Lowes, as seen on his new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR. Photo courtesy of Kawasaki Motors Europe.
Jerez Winter Test Approaches For Kawasaki Riders
KRT rider and five-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea will once again take the track in Spain alongside his new team-mate Alex Lowes, this time for the final winter test of the 2019 calendar year. Jerez is the destination, between 28 and 29 November.
Both riders and their respective technical crews will be hoping for two days of uninterrupted dry and bright winter conditions, to allow a high degree of consistency when performing back-to-back tests and trying out various set-up options.
After riding one day of the potential two at the previous tests in Motorland Aragon, Rea knows exactly what he needs from what will be the final two days of official track action at Jerez before the winter break arrives. The feedback and set-up data from this test will therefore be of great importance to all inside the overall Kawasaki effort to make ready for the 2020 season.
After a positive first experience with his new team at Motorland Aragon, even in the face of sometimes-unfavourable weather conditions, Lowes is now out to discover more of the full nature of the class-leading Ninja ZX-10RR at Jerez.
Lowes was still close to the top of the best times at the Motorland tests which gives him and the team great confidence to build on, as they continue to forge a strong working relationship to maximise the full potential of the entire racing project.
Weather conditions can always change, particularly at this time of the year, but as it stands the forecasts indicate that Jerez should benefit from a period of dry weather for the two days of testing.
As well as being the location for this test, the 4.423km long Jerez circuit will also be the host venue for the third round of the 2020 WorldSBK championship itself, to be held in late March.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am pretty happy to get back on my bike again as we never got the best conditions at Aragon. With Jerez just being a little further south in Europe, at this time of year we can hopefully rely on some better riding conditions to continue our winter test programme. We are trying some different things and we have some new test items to try. We are also experimenting with our base set-up a little bit. It is the time of the year when we can really do that. After the Aragon test I have been busy at home and also I visited the Motorcycle Live Show in Birmingham, which was really nice because I hung out with a lot of fans. Just to hear all the positive vibes gave me good energy to approach this last part of the year, and give a big effort at the last winter test of 2019. It is one of the most important tests because in January it can be even cooler. Most of our priority is to enjoy the bike – and be fast!”
Alex Lowes, stated: “I am really looking forward to this test because Aragon was affected a lot by the weather. My goals for this next test are to understand the bike a little bit more, and then hopefully be able to do some longer runs on the bike. I want to get more understanding of what sort of changes, and how the bike feels with the changes, that the guys make on the set-up. I will also keep working on my relationship with the guys in the garage, so that they understand exactly what I need from the bike. Obviously, getting the bike set-up for the track and having a good feeling at the track is important. But in the racing season the track temperatures can be a bit higher, so it is more important that the guys understand my feedback from the bike, and understand what I need from the set-up, so it minimises the time needed to get the feeling I will need. Jerez is a track I really enjoy and I am just looking forward to getting more laps in, continuing the process of adapting to the bike and the team. It is going to be good and we are all hoping for some sunshine.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “Our next test is very important because it will be the final one before we go into the Christmas break. It is important to finish with a good vibe to close out an incredible year. The weather forecast looks good so Alex will have the opportunity to ride for two full dry days; for sure he will make incredible steps. Our first sensations working with him in Motorland were good. He is working calmly and patiently to make the rhythm come to him instead of chasing it. He shows a great, mature attitude and I think this will allow us to make good and solid steps. Jonathan is becoming stronger and even more motivated after the Motorland test, which he left after the first day because of a personal matter at home. We have prepared eight qualifying tyres for him to destroy the lap time before the Christmas break… This will be the final test after what must be the best season he has had until now. Let’s see how much he can enjoy – what we expect to be – good weather in Jerez.”
As well as the official KRT squad being at Jerez, Xavi Fores will ride the Kawasaki Puccetti Ninja ZX-10RR, and the expanded Pedercini Racing Team will field their existing WorldSBK rider Jordi Torres as well as their additional signing for 2020, Lorenzo Savadori.
Marc Marquez during testing at Jerez in 2019. Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Best Race Lap Record: 1:38.051, Marc Marquez, 2019
All-Time Lap Record: 1:36.880, Fabio Quartararo, 2019
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuito De Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
November 26, 2019
Day Two Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.820
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.837
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.959
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.964
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.973
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.986
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.100
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.113
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.211
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.352
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.442
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.452
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.674
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.813
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.940
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:38.962*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.224
Dani Pedrosa, Spain (KTM), 1:39.594*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.845*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.880
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.884*
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.943
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:49.921*
*test rider
Overall Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.131
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:37.820
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.837
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.885
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.959
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.986
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.100
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.113
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.211
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.253
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.352
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.358
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.442
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.500
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.813
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:38.962*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.224
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.588*
Dani Pedrosa, Spain (KTM), 1:39.594*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.652*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.880
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.943
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:43.056*
*test rider
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Marquez ends a rain-interrupted Day 2 on top
The reigning Champion signs off fastest – before heading for surgery on Wednesday
Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Tuesday, 26 November 2019
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was fastest on Day 2 of the Jerez test, the reigning Champion posting a 1:37.820 on Tuesday morning to sign off for the season on top – although there were more headlines for the number 93 than just on-track. From the test, Marquez will now head for surgery on his right shoulder after a crash on Day 1 of the test exacerbated a problem that had already begun to plague him. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was second quickest and just 0.017 in arrears, with his teammate Joan Mir completing the top three on Tuesday.
Day 2 at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto was largely disrupted by rain, with the riders getting limited dry track time before the wet weather arrived at around 12:15 local time. On a wet track, less than half the field ventured out, but those who did include MotoGP™ rookies Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as all three used the time to test out their new machines in the different conditions.
Before that, however, Marquez had swiftly got down to business, setting the second fastest time of the test overall – and the quickest of the day – on his third flying lap. The number 93 retained three bikes in the garage as on Day 1, and the partial dislocation of his right shoulder suffered on Monday didn’t seem to be affecting him out on track but Marquez then announced he has elected to have surgery as a preventative measure after medical consultation. The operation will be similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018. Rookie Alex Marquez was 17th, and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) 13th on Tuesday – although the Brit put in limited laps.
Limited laps was true for many and definitely for Mir, who did only 12 laps to end the day in third, with Alex Rins putting in twice that and turning the tables on his teammate on Day 2. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli did 14 laps for the Hamamatsu factory, but the Team Suzuki Ecstar camp seem very pleased with their early 2020 progress with the new engine. “Back-to-back” testing with 2019 and 2020 parts was key for Team Manager Davide Brivio, and all three riders improved their laptime on Tuesday morning.
Yamaha ended Tuesday in fourth with Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – although the number 12 remains fastest overall – and he put in 15 laps. Across the two days, Yamaha duo Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued testing the 2020 YZR-M1, with both having one 2020 – with a slightly different fuel tank – and one 2019 M1 in their garage. On Day 1, Rossi did a lot of his running with a carbon swingarm. However, that wasn’t the case on Day 2, with the number 46 running an aluminium swingarm on both of his bikes. Viñales seemed content using the aluminium swingarm for most of the test, with both riders saying small steps have been made with the 2020 engine. Rossi ended Tuesday in 10th, half a second off the top after 33 laps – more laps than most.
Over at Petronas Yamaha SRT, Fabio Quartararo was fifth on Tuesday and teammate Franco Morbidelli seventh. They confirmed they had been trying “a 2020 prototype” Yamaha engine specification in Jerez. The carbon swingarm didn’t appear on Day 2 for the duo, but it was a solid looking test for Quartararo and Morbidelli heading into the winter break.
Sixth fastest Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and 12th fastest Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) continued to work on Ducati’s new chassis on both days in Jerez, with both riders confirming it’s a step in the right direction. On Day 2, test rider Michele Pirro was seen using a new aero piece on the front wheel too. Jack Miller and Pramac Racing, meanwhile, completed just four laps on Day 2 as the rain saw them pack up early for the winter, but the Australian finished P8 on the day and combined standings after improving his time on Tuesday, the last rider within a second of Viñales’ overall best.
At Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, MotoGP™ Legend and test rider Dani Pedrosa was back out on track after missing Day 1 through illness and he did 11 laps. Pol Espargaro, fastest KTM in ninth, continued to lap with a new RC16 with the orange chassis. There was also a new fairing and new aero setup on display across the two days as Espargaro seems pleased with the Austrian factory’s progress. Binder was lapping on the ‘old’ bike and did a good amount of laps before the rain came on Tuesday morning, and as aforementioned the South African also headed out in the wet. Lecuona was also still on the ‘old’ bike as both rookies’ aim was to get more comfortable on the MotoGP™ machine. Lecuona and Binder ended the test 20th and 22nd respectively on Tuesday.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini and Aleix Espargaro had a new front wheel cover on Day 2 in Andalucia, an all-in-one piece with the front mudguard, wheel cover and caliper duct. He was 15th after 24 laps. Andrea Iannone, on the other side of the garage, only did four laps on Day 2 but finished eleventh. Test rider Bradley Smith, 21st on Tuesday, completed the most laps of anyone on Day 2 – 43.
Catch up on the two 2020 preseason tests so far on motogp.com with coverage, interviews and more, and stay tuned over the winter as the start of the season fast approaches! Qatar will be here faster than you think…
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
#JerezTest. Two days of official MotoGP testing at Jerez conclude for Jack Miller and Pramac Racing. See you in Malaysia!
The last two days of testing of the 2019 MotoGP season, ended today at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto. Jack Miller worked hard to test new parts of the Ducati Desmosedici 2020 that he will have available from the Sepang tests scheduled for early February 2020.
The Australian completed 51 laps in the first day of testing while today, due to the rain, he was able to complete only 4 laps, still managing to lower by more than three tenths of a second his best time recorded in Day-1.
Francesco Bagnaia did not take part in the tests, however, as he has already started to work to recover the best physical condition after the bad crash in the FP3 of #Valencia GP.
Jack Miller. Photo courtesy of Pramac Racing.
Jack Miller
They were two very productive days even if today we could not lap much because of the rain. But I am very satisfied because I was able to try new solutions that we will find in Malaysia when I will have the 2020 version of the Desmosedici GP. I would like to say a big thank you to Ducati and Pramac Racing. It has been a satisfying season and since the Sepang tests we will be working to improve even further. Happy holidays to everyone.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Lecuona gathers first wet experiences in Jerez
The final day of testing in 2019 saw Red Bull KTM Tech3’s MotoGP rookie Iker Lecuona finishing 20th after 26 laps. Following some dry time this morning, where he went slightly quicker than on day one, the rain arrived at the Circuito de Jerez at lunchtime, cutting the proceedings short, but at the same time delivering an interesting chance to Lecuona to go out on a wet track for the very first time in the MotoGP category.
Iker Lecuona (27). Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 20th
Time: 1:39.880
Laps: 26
“It was my first time in wet conditions and to be honest, it was quite strange. I need more laps, but finally I went quite fast. I liked the feeling, although I didn’t find out the limit in every point. I’m happy, but with some sectors not too much. For next year, I know that I need to improve in all the points, which is clear as long as you are not finishing first. I need work on my riding, on the brakes and picking up the bike, but finally in the wet it all went quite well and in general, I’m very happy.”
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
“It was the final day on track for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP outfit in 2019. We would have hoped for better weather in order to continue the learning process with Iker and in order to have more data with Dani Pedrosa, which was an important mission, but you know, we can control a few things, but for sure never the weather. Still, I think it was quite good we had the chance to do quite a few laps with Iker on the wet and I have to say that I was really impressed. I don’t know if it’s the Supermotard experience, but he likes the Michelin wet a lot, he likes the KTM RC16 a lot on the wet and I think he had a lot of fun and the lap time was really good, too. So, this was not a wasted day. Outside of that, we saw that the three rookies in the MotoGP class are quite fast and I believe that there will be an interesting fight next year. Sure, Iker will be full on to fight for the crown. Now it’s time to wish everyone a good winter break, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you to the whole team! Let’s have a good rest and see each member full of energy and well rested in Sepang.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
THE JEREZ TESTS OFFICIALLY CLOSE OUT THE MOTOGP SEASON
FINAL LAPS OF 2019 FOR ESPARGARÓ, IANNONE AND SMITH
Two days of tests in Jerez de la Frontera officially closed out the MotoGP season. The tests were partially marred by the weather, with rain falling on the Spanish track during the final session.
In Noale, work continues non-stop on the new 2020 RS-GP, a revamped project with the clear goal of marking a turning point for Aprilia. So, Aleix Espargaró, Andrea Iannone and Bradley Smith worked on the 2019 package, analysing new solutions, especially in terms of electronics, making progress from which the new prototype will be able to benefit.
The Spanish tests were also a chance for the new engineers who have embraced the Aprilia project to make their début, important reinforcements in anticipation of the new season that will start with the Sepang tests in February 2020.
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
ALEIX ESPARGARÒ
“The Jerez tests are more relevant than the Valencia tests because this is a more traditional and more indicative track. We continued working on the 2019 package with a few changes to the electronics, which is an area we are strengthening. Now the ball is in the Aprilia engineers’ court as they develop the 2020 prototype. The coming months will be crucial in achieving the objective of having the new bike on the track in Sepang.”
Andrea Iannone (29). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
ANDREA IANNONE
“Unfortunately, we were a bit limited during these two days, both because of the weather and because I arrived in Jerez with a fever. In any case, we found some interesting things to work on over the winter in order to show up in Sepang stronger than before. The work done by Michelin on the new tyres also seemed to go very well. I’ll stay in contact with the guys in Noale now to follow development of the new bike. It will be important for me to be able to make a step forward next season.”
Bradley Smith (38). Photo courtesy of Aprilia Gresini Racing.
BRADLEY SMITH
“Our programme here was not much different than the one in Valencia. We are gathering the final data that will allow the racing department to refine the 2020 bike. The weather wasn’t the best, especially on the second day, but we tried to provide as much information as possible, even lapping in the wet.”
More, from a press release release issued by Ducati:
Day 2 of MotoGP testing at Jerez is brought to an early end by the rain, with Dovizioso finishing sixth and Petrucci in twelfth
The rain that fell at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit late in the morning brought an early end to the final day of 2019 MotoGP testing for the riders of the Ducati Team.
Andrea Dovizioso (04). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci could in fact only complete five and ten laps respectively, without being able to carry on with today’s scheduled development work. Dovizioso set a best lap time of 1’37.986 while Petrucci lapped in a 1’38.452 after fitting the tyres he used yesterday.
Danilo Petrucci (9). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
The MotoGP World Championship will now begin a two-month winter break and the teams and riders will next be back on track at Sepang (Malaysia) from 7th to 9th February 2020 for the first official testing session of the new year.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Rain ends Jerez Test early for Repsol Honda Team
Midday rain meant the final day of testing in 2019 was cut short, teams making the most of the morning before the conditions worsened.
With the forecast looking bleak, Marc Marquez was among the first riders on track in Jerez as the final day of 2019 commenced. An early in the day 1’37.820 immediately had the World Champion atop the day’s timing table and second overall. More track time would have been welcomed as there is always more to test, but Marc and team are content with what has been accomplished since the flag dropped in the Valencia race.
Likewise, Alex Marquez was left wishing for better track conditions in order to improve his feeling on the RC213V. A best time of 1’39.224, set on the morning of the second day, leaves the 23-year-old as the fastest rookie of the test. The reigning Moto2 World Champion will now begin an intense off season to prepare himself for his debut in the premier class when the lights go out in Qatar.
Marc Marquez will now travel to Barcelona for an operation on his right shoulder at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron on Wednesday, November 27. The Repsol Honda Team rider has elected to have the operation as a preventative measure after medical consultation. The operation will be similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018.
The Repsol Honda Team will be back on track for the Sepang Test, February 07 to 09.
Marc Marquez
1’37.820
“Theses two days were very positive for us, working with the 2020 items we have and trying to find the right direction. On the first day we tried a lot of things and then today we started with the best of what we found yesterday. Unfortunately, we only did 20 laps before the rain came. It wasn’t wet enough to properly test in the wet and it certainly wasn’t dry. Now it’s time for the staff in HRC Japan to analyse everything.
“This winter I would have liked to have a nice holiday and enjoy a bit of quiet time after a great 2019 – but it is time to have surgery on the right shoulder. As everyone knows, last winter was very tough for me with the operation on the left shoulder, which was very, very damaged. I want to avoid the situation where my right shoulder is in this condition in the future so I spoke a lot with the doctors to see what our options were. Before Motegi I had some issues with the shoulder and then after the crash in Malaysia I had a subluxation. Here at the test I had another subluxation after the crash, so we decided with the doctors that it was best to have the surgery to avoid the situation we had with the other shoulder. It will take more or less the same time and we will work in the same way to arrive at the Malaysia test as strong as possible.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Alex Marquez
1’39.224
“The weather was like it was, which wasn’t perfect but in the morning we were able to make another step and improved our time on used tyres. This is good news for us. Like yesterday, when we put new tyres in it started to rain so this is still something we have to look at. We were able to try the bike a little bit in the wet and it felt good. I’m happy with this second day of testing even if there’s still a lot of work to do. I know what I need to do at home to be ready in Sepang.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Castrol Honda:
CRUTCHLOW BRINGS 2019 ACTION TO CLOSE AT DAMP JEREZ TEST
After the MotoGP racing season finished just over a week ago in Valencia, Cal Crutchlow today brought the curtain down on the on-track action for the LCR Honda CASTROL Team in 2019, by completing the second of two days testing in Jerez, Spain.
The Andalusian tests were hampered by rain on both days, but Crutchlow still managed to put in 66 laps on day one, before completing 14 on day two, with lap times from all riders mostly well behind those from the Spanish Grand Prix and subsequent test back in May.
MotoGP’s official testing ban begins this weekend, and runs until the beginning of February when Crutchlow will be back out at the Malaysian circuit at Sepang on the 7th. After three days there, he and the squad move on to Qatar for a further three-day test from the 22nd-24th February, ahead of the season-opener under lights at the same Losail circuit on 8th March.
Cal Crutchlow (35). Photo courtesy of LCR Honda Castrol.
Cal Crutchlow – 10th overall
(1’38.253 – 80 laps)
“On day one we did a short evaluation of a few parts with the 2019 bike. We were happy enough with how the day went. We couldn’t get too many laps because the weather wasn’t fantastic. On a normal test here we could probably do 100 laps in a day, but on the first day this time we only did 60-ish and today just 14. Overall, we’re happy with the work we managed to fit in”.
“Day two wasn’t too useful as regards our plans to make steps forward with the 2020 project. It’s a shame for everyone that the weather hasn’t been great, but we will work with the engineers in the factory over winter to make sure we have the best package available for the 2020 season.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
JEREZ TEST CONCLUSION BRINGS CALENDAR YEAR TO A CLOSE
Alex Rins: 2nd – 1:37.837 (+ 0.017)
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1:37.959 (+ 0.139)
Sylvain Guintoli: 16th – 1:38.962 (+ 1.142)
The second day of testing action at Circuit Angel Nieto in Jerez, Spain, allowed Team SUZUKI ECSTAR to draw useful final conclusions despite weather conditions bringing an early close to proceedings.
The riders continued their work on the 2020 spec. engine, completing evaluations ahead of the first 2020 test in Malaysia in February. All three riders once again reported positive findings from this engine.
Alex Rins put in a run of consistently quick laps which gave him added confidence, while Joan Mir spent some time working on electronics. Sylvain Guintoli also added his experienced feedback into the mix and reported that the testing plan is going very well.
However, the session was brought to an early close after steady rains struck Andalucia. December will see the usual ‘winter testing ban’ meaning Team SUZUKI ECSTAR will be back on track in the New Year.
Ken Kawauchi:
“Unfortunately, the second day didn’t allow us much dry track time, but this test combined with the Valencia test has allowed us to see how things are going for next year. We can see how our bike is starting to form, and the parts we’ve tried have confirmed our initial hopes. We’ve made a step – not a big step – but a sure step.”
Davide Brivio:
“We’ve finished this final test of the year in a good mood, the feedback from the riders about the engine has been positive, and this has meant we can decide on the spec. for next year. It’s been interesting and useful to go through other things such as electronics settings and general bike settings. Now that we’ve finalised the engine, in Sepang we’ll continue to work on other areas such as the chassis. The riders deserve some rest now after a long and good season; we’ll be ready for the New Year!”
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Alex Rins:
“These two days have been really nice because we confirmed a lot of things and we’re satisfied with the new engine. I only managed to do two runs in the dry, but I was very happy with my pace, I bettered my lap time from yesterday. I did three or four laps in the early 38s, as well as a fast lap of 1:37.837, and it felt good. Now it’s time for the winter break, and to come back fresh in the new year.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Joan Mir:
“We weren’t able to do a lot of laps today because of the conditions, but we still managed to work on the electronics areas, and this was positive because we noticed the difference. I set a strong lap, even after being out on track for a while. Overall, after four days of testing – two here and two in Valencia – the feeling is very positive and I’m already looking forward to coming back after the holidays.”
Sylvain Guintoli (50). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki ECSTAR.
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Today was a pretty short today, but we still managed to do almost everything we wanted to and everything we planned. 2019 has now drawn to a close and we’re so excited for next year because the 2020 spec. already looks really promising. The test team are doing more and more and our close bond with the factory side is going well, we’re seeing the results of this work.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
MOTOGP WORK WRAPS FOR 2019 AT RAINY JEREZ TEST
MotoGP 2020 IRTA test Jerez (ESP)
Red Bull KTM riders lapped a damp and cool Jerez circuit in southern Spain to complete their second 2020 pre-season test this week and close a hectic third year of MotoGP action.
Less than a week after the initial run-out for 2020 MotoGP at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia both Red Bull KTM and Red Bull KTM Tech3 were both back on-track but further south in the Iberian Peninsula and around the curves of Jerez.
Throughout Monday and Tuesday looming clouds threatened poor weather conditions and although some good work and laps were achieved on the first day, the second was largely washed out due to the wet climate.
Pol Espargaro ploughed ahead with work on the 2020 configuration of the KTM RC16 and maintained a steady position in the top ten of the fastest times. The Spaniard tried a new aerodynamic package on Monday. Teammate Brad Binder took advantage of both the dry and wet state of the course to continue his acclimatisation to the MotoGP race bike. Fellow rookie Iker Lecuona suffered a crash on Monday but was also eager to circulate whenever possible to gather information. Test rider Dani Pedrosa missed Monday through illness but logged some mileage at Jerez on Tuesday.
2019 preparations for KTM’s fourth season in the premier class are now complete and MotoGP enters a testing ‘blackout’ during December and January until the engines are started again at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in early February.
Pol Espargaro (44). Photo courtesy of KTM Images.
Pol Espargaro: “The last test of 2019 and we were not so lucky with the weather which mean we could not work as much as we wanted. Fortunately, we did some laps this morning when we felt quite good and we were just three tenths away from the top guy with ten laps on the tyre, which was important for consistency. Overall the pre-season has been very good. We did a lot and tested a lot of new stuff at Valencia and we have been fast. Now it’s time for the winter and after healing a little bit I will try to work harder than I did last year to try and come back in better shape. I’m already looking forward to trying the 2020 RC16 again in Malaysia.”
Brad Binder (33). Photo courtesy of KTM Images.
Brad Binder: “We decided to do a couple of laps when it was a little bit wet just to get the feeling of the new bike and that was really awesome. I’m glad I got a chance to experience that. It’s been difficult these last two tests. It hasn’t been easy to adapt to the new bike but I think I’ve got a lot to think about now in the off-season and hopefully we can try to make a step in Sepang. I think I just need to improve my riding; my feeling with the front a little bit and just being able to have confidence to put the bike where I want to, especially on the entry to corners. I think once I get that right the rest will fall into place.”
Iker Lecuona: “It was my first time in wet conditions and to be honest it was quite strange. I need more laps but finally I went quite fast. I liked the feeling, although I didn’t find the limit in every point. I’m happy, but not too much with some sectors. For next year, I know I need to work on my riding, on the brakes and picking up the bike but finally in the wet it all went quite well and in general, I’m very happy.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “Our wish was for two full days of testing but we know at this time of year the weather can be difficult. Actually, we were still able to confirm a lot of things we tried in Valencia. Generally we are happy and we can send our riders into the winter break fit – which is very important – and the technical summaries we made were also good. Pol worked further on a 2020 direction and we saw today, especially in the wet, that Brad is starting to get the feel for the MotoGP bike. It was nice to see. Pol worked well and found positive points of the new material but we are still not at the point where we can say ‘everything is fixed’, we have to go to Sepang and work hard there but the important information has come across and we can plan for Malaysia and Qatar. We’ll go home and reload the batteries a little bit and then keep pushing for next February.”
Sebastian Risse, Technical Director MotoGP: “In Valencia we introduced next year’s package and we mainly focussed on this here with Pol and Dani in terms of the changes, the strong points and generally how it rates. We also had some more engine development going on with different specs, and we understood how this can work on different tracks and how it can be a universal package for next year. There were also some ‘aero’ ideas that were not ready for Valencia but we could try it here and we got some good data: we are going into the winter thinking about we will put it together. We’ll also need to think carefully about logistics because we will have four riders on factory bikes next year so it will be quite a challenge in the next month. We leave here quite happy even if the weather was not that great today and stopped us a little bit.”
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
PETRONAS Yamaha SRT sign off 2019 with successful Jerez test
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli conclude team’s debut season with fourth and seventh at Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto
Jerez test – 26 November 2019
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli signed off their 2019 MotoGP campaign with a successful two-day test at Spain’s Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto, ending up fourth and seventh overall. Ending the second day early due to weather conditions, they still managed to gain valuable experience of new prototype parts as they both completed nearly 100 laps each over the test’s two days.
An early starter this morning after cold track temperature caused a delayed pit exit yesterday, conditions soon put paid to Quartararo being able to improve on his lap time. Completing only 26 laps compared to yesterday’s 68, his fastest time of 1min 37.964secs left him 0.153secs off P1 and fourth in the overall standings. Both Fabio and Franco were also able to return to the track in the afternoon to collect information on how their prototype Yamaha YZR-M1 engine reacted to wet track conditions.
Morbidelli’s day was equally disrupted by the rain, completing only 19 laps before calling it a day at Jerez. His best time of 1min 38.100secs left him 0.280secs from the top spot and seventh on overall times. Completing 75 laps yesterday as he tested a host of parts for next season, Franco and his team were able to gather plenty of data to be as best-prepared as possible when testing resumes in 2020.
Quartararo and Morbidelli will next return to track after the winter break at their home circuit, with the first pre-season test of 2020 set to get underway on 7th February at the Sepang International Circuit.
Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager:
“The first day of the test was quite positive for us, with nice weather allowing us to get a good idea of what the new components from Yamaha were doing. With the second day’s conditions being a little difficult we still need to work on the complete package to be ready for 2020, but we’ll have enough time to do that before the season starts in March.”
Franco Morbidelli (21). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Franco Morbidelli:
“Unfortunately we didn’t learn much today, because as soon as we had completed a shake-down in the morning it started to rain and we had to stop. We managed to complete some laps in the afternoon to check out how the engine was behaving in wet conditions, but that was the end of the day for us. I feel good with the prototype engine, which is a great start. Of course, there is still plenty of work to do because there are areas where we can be better, but the direction that Yamaha has taken has been the right one. We need to improve in the braking areas, but that’s something we can concentrate on at the next test in Sepang.”
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Fabio Quartararo:
“We weren’t able to gain much from today, because just as I was getting ready to really start working on the bike it began to rain. I did my best lap time of the day but it was already starting to rain, and it turned out to be the only chance that I got. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t test as much as we wanted to, although I was also able to complete five laps in the wet to check how the engine worked in those conditions and it was positive. The track wasn’t wet all the way around for long so it wasn’t too helpful to keep riding and risk injury. We still need to work on the power delivery of the bike because it’s different from the current bike’s, but the pace I was setting yesterday was promising. We need to complete more laps, but overall it’s been a successful test for us. Now I’ll enjoy the time off and come back fresh to try everything again in Malaysia.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA CONCLUDE 2019 TESTING WITH BRIGHT PROSPECTS DESPITE RAIN
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 26th November 2019
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi didn‘t have a lot of opportunity in the dry today at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto track to complete their Jerez Test programme. But although the available track time was cut short due to the rainy weather, they made it count. The team-mates both noticed positive changes and wrapped up the last 2019 IRTA test in 1st and 11th place respectively in the combined results.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’37.131s / 68 + 15 LAPS
11th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’38.352s / 64 + 33 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi had to deal with rain on the second day of 2020 pre-season testing at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, but they didn‘t let it dampen their spirits. The team-mates both beamed about the progress they made with the protype and new testing items and completed the Jerez Test in 1st and 11th place respectively in the combined Day 1-2 rankings.
Viñales had already adapted his testing style this year: riding less laps but going all out whilst focusing on tweaking specific areas rather than putting in as much laps as possible trying various changes at once. Unfortunately, due to today‘s rain, the test was wrapped up early. The conditions forced the Spaniard to be even more strict in choosing his priorities. He completed 15 laps and posted a best time of 1’37.964s on lap 9. This put him fourth in the Day-2 timesheets, 0.144s from first. His superb 1‘37.131s lap from yesterday kept him firmly in first place in the overall timesheets, with a 0.689s margin over second place.
Rossi set out in Jerez today to make a detailed comparison between the old and the new bike. He was quickly up to speed, but soon the rain spoiled his plans. The Doctor used the wet track conditions in the afternoon to his advantage to work with the new testing items in the cold and wet. He completed 33 laps in total. His best time was a 1’38.352s, 0.407s faster than his best from yesterday and set on only his tenth lap of the day. This put him in 10th place in today’s standings, 0.532s from first, and in 11th position in the combined results, 1.221s from the top.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
“As said in Valencia last week, the target of this test was to evaluate the new bike and also to get the same confirmation we got there, and so far, apart from the rain, the information we got was basically more or less the same. Maverick has been quicker with the new bike, so for sure the starting point, the base of this new bike, is working. Saying that, we still have work to do for the first race, but for me, when I look back to when we tried new items in the last two years, we never reached this point. I can see that it‘s promising. The riders are always looking for more, but what we were looking for was increasing the smoothness and increasing the top speed gradually, and we did. The area where we should try to make another step is top speed, and I am confident that we will achieve this.”
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“Actually, I felt really good on the bike, riding in a really good way. Yesterday, I felt fantastic on all the laps and that is the most important. I end the 2019 season with a great feeling and a lot of motivation, and that keeps you going when preparing for the new season. Yamaha is working really hard, but we‘re still working on top speed. For sure in other areas we‘re quite strong, but we need to stay focused on improving our weaker areas for the next test in Sepang.”
Valentino Rossi. Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
VALENTINO ROSSI
“It‘s a shame about the weather today. It was an important day because we had to work on making a comparison between the new and the old bike, so we had a good program, but, unfortunately, we did only ten laps on the dry, and after that we did some laps on the wet. But the feeling is positive, a lot better than yesterday. On the dry I was a lot faster. I improved my best lap time from the day before already after three laps, and today I was more competitive. After the rain we did some work on the new bike on the wet, and it wasn‘t so bad, but it was only half a day.”
Mojo Yamaha Team USA's fleet of Yamaha racebikes, before being packed in a container and shipped to Australia for the 2020 International Island Classic. Photo courtesy of Mojo Yamaha Team USA.
The racebikes of Mojo Yamaha Team USA are on their way to Australia in preparation for the 2020 International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Mojo Yamaha Team USA leader Dave Crussell took the accompanying photo Sunday, before loading his fleet of Yamahas into a shipping container, which was picked up today.
“What you’re looking at there is the Mojo Yamaha team for the International Island Classic,” Crussell told Roadracingworld.com Monday. “What we have there is five CMR F1 chassis with big FJ1200/1300 engines in them and two Yamaha TZ750s.”
Identifying the motorcycles in the photo starting at the far left, Crussell said, “The #17 TZ750 is mine. Then the black bike is a CMR FJ that will be ridden by Taylor Knapp. The next one is another TZ750, and that one will be ridden by Melissa Paris. The number four bike at the back is a CMR FJ, and that’s Josh Hayes’ bike, the one he used to win Race Four in 2019. The next one around in the orange and white is another CMR FJ, and that one is going to be ridden by Jordan Szoke. The next one is the blue bike, another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Larry Pegram. And the last one, in bumble bee yellow, is another CMR FJ, and that one will be ridden by Michael Gilbert.”
Asked about his thoughts and expectations ahead of the vintage racing event, Crussell said, “I think we have the strongest team we’ve ever had. I think our bikes are better than they were last year.
“This has been a journey for us. Every year we’ve invested in riders and invested in bikes. We’ve put a lot of efforts into our bikes this year. We’ve done a lot of testing through the year. We tested at Willow Springs, Chuckwalla, and at Miller [Utah Motorsports Campus].
“We’ve really been listening to the riders about how they sit on the bike, the ergonomics of the riding positions, the weight bias. And we’ve also worked on getting all of the bikes upgraded with more power, more revs, and making them generally faster all around.”
For more information on the International Island Classic January 24-26 at Phillip Island, go to www.islandclassic.com.au.
Michio "Mitch" Arai in front of Arai headquarters in Omiya, Japan. Photo courtesy Arai.
Featured In the November 2019 issue of Roadracing World:
Michio “Mitch” Arai says he started riding motorcycles when he was about seven years old, taught by his father Hirotake in about 1945—74 years ago. He’s still riding now, at age 81. More than that, he’s still working more than full-time running the company, started by his father Hirotake, that bears his family’s name, Arai Helmet.
Hirotake “Hiro” Arai started making motorcycle helmets in 1950. He was already a self-taught hat maker who made helmets (hard-hats) for miners and construction workers after World War II. He was riding a motorcycle, and decided to adapt one of the helmets he was already making, to protect his own head when he was riding.
It soon attracted the attention of riders and race organizers, who asked Hiro Arai to make and sell a helmet specifically designed for motorcycle riding. That, Mitch says, was the start of the motorcycle helmet industry in Japan …
—Shops: Arai Helmet Headquarters, by John Ulrich
Arai builds about 240,000 helmets a year, all designed according to the company’s philosophy of making helmets that do the best possible job of managing impact energy. Mitch Arai says he sees himself as a racer–leading the race to provide better protection for motorcyclists by building better helmets. The story of Arai Helmet is in the November issue of Roadracing World!
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology is THE definitive source for motorcycle racing, riding, and tech information.
PREVIEW the November 2019 issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology!
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technologymagazine is available in print and digital formats. SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR INSTANT ACCESS!
Log in or subscribe HERE. Or call (909) 654-4779, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Visit www.roadracingworld.com daily for breaking news and events.
Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/roadracingworld
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com @roadracingworld
Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com @roadracing_world
Maverick Vinales (12) during post-season testing in 2019. Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
Best Race Lap Record: 1:38.051, Marc Marquez, 2019
All-Time Lap Record: 1:36.880, Fabio Quartararo, 2019
FIM MotoGP World Championship
Circuito De Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
November 25, 2019
Day One Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:37.131
Fabio Quartararo, France (Yamaha), 1:37.885
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:38.012
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:38.089
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.117
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.227
Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.253
Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:38.348
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.358
Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:38.474
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.492
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:38.500
Andrea Iannone, Italy (Aprilia), 1:38.751
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.759
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:39.103
Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 1:39.148*
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:39.412
Bradley Smith, UK (Aprilia), 1:39.588*
Michele Pirro, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.652*
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:39.933
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:39.980
Eric Granado, Brazil (Ducati), 1:43.056*
*test rider
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Eric Granado will ride a Ducati GP18 in the Jerez Test
After a great season finale with two excellent victories in the MotoE category, the Reale Avintia Racing Team will reward the Brazilian rider Eric Granado by giving him the opportunity to ride the Ducati GP18 during the test that will take place this week at the Jerez circuit .
It must be remembered that, despite a challenging start to the year, Granado concluded the first MotoE season in a meritorious third position overall, overcoming the adversities that had to face throughout the year.
Our desire as a team is to offer the riders of our structure what they deserve and this is a great opportunity to see the potential and feelings of this young pilot in MotoGP.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Viñales picks up where he left off at Jerez
The Spaniard leads Quartararo once again, but this time it’s Mir and Rins on the chase
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Monday, 25 November 2019
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) topped Day 1 of the Jerez Test by quite a margin on Monday, the Spaniard ending the session over seven tenths clear of the next fastest: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was third and continued his impressive run on the testing timesheets, pipping teammate Alex Rins as the Hamamatsu factory locked out third and fourth. The day was punctuated by some drizzle and Red Flags, although the majority managed nearly or over 50 laps.
Yamaha have now topped all three days of ‘2020’ so far, once with Quartararo and twice with Viñales. At Jerez, both the former and latter did 68 laps, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in fifth adding another 75. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), meanwhile, did 64 laps and was 14th. He and teammate Viñales had one ‘new’ and one ‘old’ Yamaha in the garage to compare, with Rossi’s 2020 machine fitted with the carbon swingarm but Viñales content without it, working on the engine. Neither Petronas Yamaha SRT rider had the carbon swingarm on Monday, although they had “some new things” to test.
At Suzuki, meanwhile, work continued on the new engine. Mir had the upper hand on the timsheets in third after 56 laps, with teammate Rins putting in 69 in fourth. Test rider Sylvain Guintoli was also on track for the Hamamatsu factory, and he put 63 laps to pip his fellow test riders and end the day in 16th. It wasn’t all engine for Suzuki, but that was the key focus.
Honda were the next factory up, with reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in sixth despite a crash at Turn 13. It was a slow lowside but in the gravel trap he hit his shoulder, heading to the Medical Centre for a check up. He’d suffered a partially dislocated right shoulder – not the one on which he had surgery this time last year – and did get back out on track but said he slowed up slightly. He had three bikes in the garage. And where Marquez was focusing on 2020 comparisons, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was more on 2019 machinery on Monday. He was just 0.026 behind Marquez and put in 66 laps.
Rookie Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, was out in HRC and Repsol colours, and he seemed to take a step forward. The number 73 was 17th and did 70 laps, saying he found Jerez a bigger step on a MotoGP™ bike – but also an easier one.
Pol Espargaro (44). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
KTM were the fourth fastest factory on Monday with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the number 44 slotting in behind Marquez and Crutchlow on the timesheets. He did 56 laps and although he took a tumble – rider ok. He had three bikes in the garage, one ‘old’ and two ‘new’, although he spent his time out on the new. He did 56 laps and was within a tenth of Crutchlow. Rookie teammate Brad Binder, meanwhile, remained on 2019 machinery and did 67 laps. Red Bull KTM Tech 3 rookie Iker Lecuona had a huge crash on Monday, but rider ok, and he did 38 laps. Test rider Dani Pedrosa was absent due to illness.
Ducati’s onslaught on the timesheets was led by Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), back n action after missing some of Valencia due to shoulder pain, who narrowly headed teammate Andrea Dovizioso as they took P9 and P10. The former did 48 laps and the latter 45. Dovizioso had the new, bigger ‘salad box’ and work continued on what the duo had worked on at Valencia. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was only 0.018 off ‘Dovi’ in 11th. Test rider Michele Pirro had a technical issue and that caused a Red Flag, and a sensor was spotted on top of the tail unit on his machine.
Aleix Espargaro (41). Photo courtesy of Dorna/www.motogp.com.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini were 12th and 13th, and nothing big was seen from the Noale factory although both Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone had the swingarm with a hole in it fitted. Espargaro did 53 laps and Iannone 49. Test rider Bradley Smith had the ‘solid’ version of the swingarm and did 67 laps.
What will we see on Day 2? Check out motogp.com for coverage, interviews and more – and catch up on everything from Monday with After the Flag.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Lecuona continues MotoGP learning curve in Jerez
This week Red Bull KTM Tech3 is back on track at the Circuito de Jerez with Iker Lecuona further testing the KTM RC16, after he made a successful debut at the finale Grand Prix of the season 2019, plus showed some more progress during the official Valencia test last week. The Spaniard completed another solid day, being at this venue for the first time in the premier class, lapping the track 38 times with a fastest lap of 1:39.933 minutes.
Iker Lecuona (41). Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 20th
Time: 1:39.933
Laps: 38
“Jerez is a very difficult track on the MotoGP bike, it’s not easy to go fast here and have a good feeling on the bike. For sure, I need more laps tomorrow in order to get more kilometers in. At the moment, I finished 2.802 seconds from the top, which is obviously too much. After the crash, I feel a bit bruised, but overall, I’m ok. This circuit is definitely completely different to what we had in Valencia, so I need to further adapt myself and I can’t wait to be back on the bike tomorrow.”
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
“This was an early end of day one in Jerez for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team. Already this morning, we understood that Dani Pedrosa was not at his best, was feeling quite sick and said that he will try to stay calm in the morning and eventually come back in the afternoon, but it looks like that didn’t work and he is still trying to recover, so hopefully he’ll be testing tomorrow, although the weather forecast is not very positive for Tuesday. On Iker’s side, everything started quite well. The weather was cold without any rain, but quite a lot humidity in the air and we started with the soft option tyres, just slowly to try to understand the Jerez circuit, which is very demanding, very tough to learn and to go fast with the MotoGP bike, plus quite different to Valencia. Until the lunch break, everything went very well, each single run was quicker than the one before and we ended up breaking the 1:40 barrier, which was good. Unfortunately, straight after the lunch break, Iker was on his third lap, I believe, and did a very slow lap and then followed another rider the lap after. But when it’s like this, the tyre temperature drops quite a lot in this weather condition and on the first left corner, which is turn four, he crashed. He is a bit bruised everywhere, but nothing is broken, so he came back without any physical consequences, the bike is not too damaged, but all together we decided to put an end to the day. It’s always a pity to do not as many laps as you could have done, because we know it’s the last test of the year and Iker is a rookie. But anyway, we did a few interesting laps and hopefully tomorrow we can stay away from the rain and have two riders on track, enjoying their very last 2019 day of testing before going for a well-deserved break. So, let’s wait and see tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
Productive day at Jerez test for Quartararo and Morbidelli
Second and fifth for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT duo Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli after opening day of action at Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto
Jerez test – 25 November 2019
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli made a productive start to their final test of the 2019 season for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, finishing the day’s action at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto second and fifth despite a late start and early bath this evening as weather conditions worked against them.
Taking to the track at 1130 despite the circuit opening at 1000 thanks to the cool conditions this morning, Quartararo was quick to move to the upper end of the timing sheets and spent the rest of the day there. Just losing out to fellow Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales in the afternoon, Quartararo finished up with strong pace testing a prototype version of the Yamaha YZR-M1 engine for next year. Completing 68 laps of the Spanish track, Fabio’s best time was a 1min 37.885secs, 0.754secs down on Viñales.
After concentrating on chassis development at last week’s Valencia test, Morbidelli also got the day underway using an updated version of the engine that the team used during the 2019 season – and finding improvements with it from the off this morning. Despite a crash towards the end of the day that left him unhurt, the fastest of Morbidelli’s 75 laps left him fifth overall, 0.986secs down on the leader, with a time of 1min 38.117secs.
Testing action continues tomorrow at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto, with the green flag being shown at 1000 local time (1700 Malaysian time) and the chequered flag bringing 2019’s action to an end eight hours later at 1800 (0100 Malaysian time).
Franco Morbidelli (21). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Franco Morbidelli:
“I tried a new prototype engine specification today, and we were up to speed quite quickly with it. I had a good feeling from the bike straight away, which is very positive. We’ve still got to collect data and work on our settings, but as a first impression, it was pretty great! The plan for tomorrow is to maintain the working routine from today and aim to reconfirm the items we tried in Valencia with the new engine, but for that to happen we need the weather to play ball!”
Fabio Quartararo (20). Photo courtesy of PETRONAS Yamaha SRT.
Fabio Quartararo:
“It was a long day despite having great pace on the bike and we were able to try new things. The tyres were working really well, but unfortunately, it seems like every time we put a new set on the bike there was a red flag or it started to rain a little! Maverick Viñales is really fast, but we’re not far behind him and I’m feeling really good. We used a new prototype engine from Yamaha for most of the day, but it was difficult to understand all the benefits from just one day, so there’s plenty to continue with tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Testing continues in Jerez for the Repsol Honda Team
With another 139 laps completed; the Repsol Honda Team made the most of valuable track time as the final test session of 2019 commences.
Joining the on-track action shortly after 11am Local Time, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez began the final test of 2019 in Jerez. The goal for this last test is to gather the final bits of data ahead of the winter testing ban in order for the 2020 RC213V to be well prepared for the Sepang test in early February 2020.
Marc Marquez continued to work on the various new components of the Repsol Honda Team RC213V and completed 69 laps around the 4.4km long Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. As in Valencia, lap times were not the focus for the eight-time World Champion as he worked towards defending his premier class crown. A best time of 1’38.227 saw Marc end the first day in sixth position. The reigning champion suffered a crash at Turn 13 but was able to return to track.
The Jerez test allowed rookie Alex Marquez to try the RC213V on a new circuit as he continued to learn the intricacies of a MotoGP machine. With the second test so close to the end of the Valencia test, there was little time to make major changes in his preparation, but Alex was again happy with what he was able to learn about the bike. 70 laps later, Alex ended the day with a best time of 1’39.413 – just over a second back on his teammate. The time saw him finish the day as the leading rookie.
Both Repsol Honda Team riders will be back out Tuesday, November 26 for one final day of running.
Marc Marquez (93). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Marc Marquez
SIXTH 1’38.227
“Again today we tried some different things for 2020, assessing two different directions. It looks like tomorrow the weather could be a little bit tricky, so we had to alter our plan a little bit to make sure we got the most out of today. This part of the season is very important, so we have to stay very focused here and keep working. The crash today was my mistake, I ran wide and at that time the outside of the track was a little damp so I lost the front. Fortunately I am OK, I just went to the medical centre for a precautionary check.”
Alex Marquez (73). Photo courtesy of Repsol Honda.
Alex Marquez
17TH 1’39.413
“Today we tried to improve and close the distance to the front while learning how to work with my team for next year. Throughout the day we were able to make steady improvements and I was able to work a lot with used tyres, to understand how I need to change my riding to make the most out of them. We didn’t fit any new tyres at the end as it started raining a little bit, but I am happy. I think today went better than both days in Valencia as I was more comfortable right away.”
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA CONTINUE POSITIVE PROGRESS ON JEREZ TEST DAY 1
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were back in action today, this time at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto track, to take their 2020 pre-season testing programme another step further. The team-mates secured 1st and 14th place respectively in the Day-1 timesheets whilst confirming the positive outcome of the Valencia Test one week earlier.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’37.131s / 68 LAPS
14th VALENTINO ROSSI 1’38.759s / 64 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi travelled from the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo to the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto to commence the next stage in their 2020 pre-season testing program. Following last week‘s IRTA test, the team-mates were keen on trying the protype and new items once more at the Jerez MotoGP Official Test. Their findings confirmed the improvements made, and they completed the first day in 1st and 14th place respectively in the rankings.
The riders were kept on their toes during the eight-hour session. Occasional rain meant they had to make the most of the dry track time to work on their YZR-M1s.
Viñales swung his leg over the bike for the first time in Jerez at 11 o‘clock to complete yet more kilometres in preparation for the 2020 season. The Spaniard found a good rhythm again and began chipping away at his time whilst comparing various testing items. He completed 68 laps in total familiarising himself with the new engine and showed no signs of slowing down. He posted a best time of 1’37.131s on lap 60, consolidating his place at the top of the standings with a convincing 0.754s-margin over his closest rival.
Rossi took to the Jerez track half an hour after his team-mate, eager to further improve the prototype while concentrating on the setting and overall performance of his Yamaha. The Doctor‘s first impressions are positive, though he is still working on the bike’s stability in fast corners. He completed 64 laps in total. His best time was a 1’38.759s, set on lap 59 at the end of his penultimate run. This time put him in 14th place in today’s standings, 1.628s from first.
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“We are working a lot on the new engine trying to understand the positives and negative points of the new bike. This test is quite important for us to decide on the engines and take the right approach to further improve the engine on the track, which is our focus here. We are trying to understand the best way to work. For tomorrow my plan is the same. I need to make laps with the engine, and I also need to try the tyres, and then we will see. Even if it rains, we need to go out and try the newer stuff. For sure, we are comparing the old and new items back-to-back. The positive point is that I felt good with both bikes today, so we have two good choices, which is even better. I feel we can create a lot of potential with the new engine.”
Valentino Rossi (46). Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha.
VALENTINO ROSSI
“We worked a lot today, even though the weather conditions weren‘t fantastic. Every now and then we had some rain, we had to stop and start like this, but the track conditions were quite good anyway. We worked a lot on the new bike and made another comparison with the old one, and the feeling isn‘t too bad. Some things were better, and we also have some areas where we need to work.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Day 1 of MotoGP testing concludes at Jerez with Petrucci ninth and Dovizioso tenth
The first day of MotoGP testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain came to an end this afternoon at 17h00. The Ducati Team riders went out on track for the first time late in the morning to continue development work on the 2020 version of the Desmosedici GP bikes and they were able to lap continuously until the early afternoon, when intermittent light rain hampered the activities of all the teams present at the Andalusian track.
“It was quite a challenging day for me, because I still wasn’t entirely sure about my physical condition. My left shoulder, which was hurting me a lot at Valencia, gave me a bit of bother this morning: in the afternoon however I was better and we were able to carry out some back-to-back tests, without aiming for fast times. We mainly focussed on getting a better understanding of the new solutions present on the bike, and we certainly managed to obtain some useful indications for the future”.
Andrea Dovizioso (04). Photo courtesy of Ducati.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1’38.474 (10th) – 45 laps
“Today we were able to carry out the back-to-back comparison between the two bikes, in a much better way than at Valencia, and this was important because Jerez is a track with very different characteristics. The feedback was certainly positive, but we will have to take a closer more detailed look at all the information we accumulated and make a major effort to understand which direction to take for the next development stage”.
The Ducati Team will be back on track again tomorrow at the Jerez circuit for the second and final testing day of the year.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR CONTINUES WORK TOWARDS 2020 IN JEREZ
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1:38.012 (+ 0.881)
Alex Rins: 4th – 1:38.089 (+ 0.958)
Sylvain Guintoli: 16th – 1:39.148 (+ 2.017)
Team SUZUKI ECSTAR headed down south and took to the track again less than a week after the Valencia Test, this time at the circuit of Jerez.
Alex Rins and Joan Mir were joined by Sylvain Guintoli and the rest of the test team as they continued their preparations for the 2020 season. The majority of the track action was spent as a continuation of the Valencia Test; comparing the 2019 and 2020 engine specifications. They also worked on electronics and general set-up, with a view to building up the package ahead of the Sepang Test in February. Guintoli also spent some time with a new swing arm and adjusting other aspects of the chassis.
Mir finished the session in 3rd place, having done 56 laps, while Rins was just behind in 4th, completing 69 laps. Sylvain Guintoli closed the session 16th with a total of 63 laps.
Davide Brivio:
“Today has been good. It’s very important to use this test to check our 2020 engine spec. at a different circuit, and we were able to try some different settings too. The riders gave us positive feedback, and we were able to confirm the initial feelings from Valencia. We tried to get all of the most important things done today incase tomorrow is too wet.”
Joan Mir (36). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office.
Joan Mir:
“I’m really happy because I felt we made some improvements today. We focused on the engine and also on electronics; I also tried some new parts which helped my feel even more. I’m feeling comfortable and happy with the bike. Let’s hope the weather will be OK tomorrow so we can continue this good work.”
Alex Rins (42). Photo courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office.
Alex Rins:
“Today’s test session went quite well. We tried the same things as in Valencia, like the 2020 engine spec., and we confirmed our initial findings. Tomorrow we’ll try a few more things regarding the set-up. We had some more plans for today, such as trying a fast lap with the new tyre, but unfortunately the rain arrived this afternoon and that hampered our progress.”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“Today we worked on next year’s engine, as well as some chassis work such as the swing arm. I also did some long runs and tried the new spec. Michelin rear tyre, which I found to be very good. My lap times were strong today, I did my best lap of Jerez today. Looking forward to tomorrow, fingers crossed conditions are OK.”
VonHertell Racing Services and Suspension 2019 Season Thanks
VonHertell Racing Services would like to thank all of its racers across the United States and Mexico for a great year in racing. VonHertell racers won many Championships and set some records during the 2019 season. Notable racers on VonHertell custom Traxxion AK20 forks with a VonHertell Frankenshock include RaceBike Mexico 400 National Champion Victor Perez De Leon and Dunlop Invitational 300 Champion, Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association Ultra Lightweight #1 plate holder, 300 Superbike and 300 Supersport Champion Maximum Johnson. VonHertell also scored the top 3 podium spots for the season in several classes in the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association Championship.
500 SuperBike
1st – Jesse Smartt
3rd – Maximum Johnson
5th – Manny Poulis
500 GP
2nd – Maximum Johnson
5th – Manny Poulis
300 Superbike
1st – Maximum Johnson
3rd – Manny Poulis
300 Superstock
1st – Maximum Johnson
3rd – Manny Poulis
250 Superbike
2nd – John McKenzie
250 Superstock
3rd John McKenzie
300 SuperStock Endurance Champions – HBR
UltraLightweight Endurance
2nd Overall – HBR
4th Overall – Team FellOnKnee
8th Overall – Atomic Ham Badger
D Superstock Nov
1st – Brandon Clark
2nd – Topher Simmons
3rd – James Hanson
A Superbike Novice
3rd- Al Lopez
B Superbike Novice
4th – Al Lopez
D Superbike Novice
1st – Topher Simmons
4th – Brandon Clark
Lightweight twins Novice
1st – Brandon Clark
2nd – Topher Simmons
3rd – James Hanson
Formula 2 Novice
1st – Topher Simmons
3rd – Tamara Smith
Formula 40 Middleweight Novice
1st – Al Lopez
500 Superstock Novice
3rd – Ben Avila
4th – David Hawes
500 Superbike Novice
1st – Branden Chaisorn
2nd – Brandon Clark
3rd – James Hanson
500 GP Novice
3rd – Ben Avila
4th – David Hawes
300 Superbike Novice
2nd – Brandon Clark
4th – James Hanson
5th – Topher Simmons
300 Superstock Novice
1st – Branden Chaisorn
2nd – Brandon Clark
3rd – James Hanson
VonHertell is a motorcycle suspension specialist in San Antonio, Texas. We build roadrace, flat track and track day motorcycles and specialize in chassis and suspension service for ancient and modern motorcycles.
Editorial Note: The following is an open letter issued by the Corporate Partnership Team of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to track sponsors and exhibitors.
Dear WeatherTech Raceway Partners,
As you may have heard by now, on Nov. 19th Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to replace long-time track operator SCRAMP as the managing body for our storied facility. In 2017 the Board of Supervisors granted SCRAMP a 3-year agreement in hopes that the struggling organization could get itself back on track with some directive. Unfortunately for the 62-year old organization, its continued financial misgivings and mass exodus of top-level staff were key factors for the change in management. The County has selected A&D Narigi Consulting as the new Facility Management Group beginning Jan. 1, 2020. Principal, John Narigi, brings a strong hospitality industry background to the table coupled with an impeccable business acumen. Narigi intends to retain many of the current staff, including facilities, operations, ticketing, souvenirs and marketing. Our team that oversees Sponsorship, Sales, Hospitality, and Exhibitors/Vendors, has already been aligned with the County since January 2019.
There has been great care and discussion already with the leaders of the volunteer organizations who have built this amazing facility. The volunteers are the life-blood of this facility and everyone is fully appreciated for their dedication to the raceway. New management is making sure the volunteers know how much the County is committed to improving the facility they have helped build over the decades while communicating how much they recognize the volunteers’ hard work and dedication supporting the facility.
Looking Forward:
We want all our valued Partners, Exhibitors, and Sponsors to know that we do not foresee any changes that will negatively impact our respected clients, but rather support a positive shift in customer experience, continued facility improvements, and strengthened events and attendance. The County has put in over $5.5M in improvements and another $1.3M in new equipment over the past two years. There are plans for a $20M capital improvement project to kick off in 2021 with the revitalization of the Paddock.
We also understand that there may be questions you have concerning this transition so we have taken the liberty of answering what we think may be commonly asked questions below.
Q: Will we be working directly with someone new?
A: No. You will be working directly with the same Exhibitor Services team as before. We may be adding to the team in the near future, but the core will remain unchanged to deliver consistency.
Q: Will renewals and preferred Exhibitor Locations be honored?
A: Yes. As always, we will do our absolute best to honor previous locations based on the submission of agreements and deposits by any outlined deadlines as our normal process.
Q: Will this effect pricing in 2020 and beyond?
A: As any business, the cost of doing business is dictated by many factors and we cannot guarantee that pricing will always stay the same, but we are confident that are fees will be competitive and fair. Although we are still in the process finalizing the agreements for distribution, we hope to have them to you within the next few weeks.
Q: Does this change affect the Race Season Calendar?
A: No. As always, our Event Schedule is influenced by many factors, but our goal is to offer as many quality events as possible and continue to work with Sanctioning Bodies and Promoters to bring the best racing and events to our globally recognized facility.
2020 Race Season Calendar:
· May 1-3, Trans Am SpeedFest
· July 12-14, Motorcycle Event (TBD featured series)
· July 24-26, Ferrari Racing Days
· August 13-16, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
· September 11-13, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
· September 18-20, Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
We understand that there may be additional questions you may have so we encourage you to reach out if needed and as always, we are here to help.
We look forward to another great race season in 2020 and truly appreciate your partnership!
Sincerely,
Your WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Corporate Partnership Team
Zero-based E-Racer "Edge" (left) and "Rugged" (right) electric motorcycles. Photo courtesy of E-Racer Motorcycles.
E-RACER MOTORCYCLES:
TWO NEW SPECIALS BASED ON THE CALIFORNIAN MANUFACTURER ZERO MOTORCYCLES
E-Racer Motorcycle presents two new Specials based on Zero Motorcycles: the Edge, a Zero SR / F Cafe Racer and the RUGGED Mark2 based on Zero FXS which will be officially in production and ready for sales from spring 2020.
A Zero-based E-Racer “Edge” electric motorcycle. Photo courtesy of E-Racer Motorcycles.
E-Racer EDGE
The Hypersport ZERO SR/F Cafe Racer
Born on the basis of the new Zero Motorcycles SR/F, the Edge has been customized and evolved in three different parts: the front headlight, the side tank area and the passenger’s tail. The bodywork is reversible and it can be mounted without making changes to the original model in terms of structure. In fact, the new equipment can be fitted on the base model preserving its homologation.
The design of the Edge is brought to the essential. The result is a lighter bike than the original version. On an aesthetic level, the livery emphasizes a mix of classic and sport-modern: the tank, partially transformed, is more compact and muscular, the front headlight, a full-led unit, is minimal. The superbike semi-handlebars, the handmade saddle with exclusive hand-stitched texture, the full CNC-machined steering plate, the racing wave brakes and rear AirTender regressive suspension system complete the list of primary changes.
The front full-Led unit, only 7cm in diameter, is composed of a single headlight with three different functions: position light, low beam and high beam. The “sight” of the bike is characterized by two LED day lights. All the components are produced in Germany and fully homologated.
The painting, between the rider legs and under-saddle area is reinforced with LineX, an extremely resistant armor paint, formerly a military patent, which makes the parts scratch resistent.
The E-Racer Audio-Forceback system – E-RAF
For the E-Racer team the design is not enough if it doesn’t evolve the functions, so we asked ourselves: could we improve the safety and driving performance of such a powerful electric motorcycle?
Increasing performance requires more security that’s why we have worked in this field combining the resources of our partners. Sound engineers, audio system experts and programmers worked to develop a dedicated app and hardware to meet this need. The E-Racer Audio-Forceback – E-RAF – will be available for all our customers.
The Audio-Forceback (E-RAF) is composed of an integrated hardware controlled by a BT App to produces high and low frequencies sound waves with a dual function. The first function is to warn pedestrians and other road users of the presence of the electric vehicle’s presence. As the low frequencies are easily audible in the distance, the trebles are more audible in the proximity and helps to understand the direction of the incoming vehicle.
The second function is to provide a force-feedback to the rider. The subsonic speaker produces vibrations that changes according to the speed of the motorcycle to give the rider a sensorial feel of the performance.
PRICES & DELIVERY
The price of the EDGE starts from 6.000 euro + motorcycle price
The first 5 units, entirely made to meet the specifications required by the pre-order customers will be delivered by spring 2020.
Tech Specs
MAX POWER 110 hp (82 kW)
MAX TORQUE 190 Nm
MAX SPEED 200 km/h
CHARGING TIME 1 hour (95% charged)
RANGE City: 259 km – Highway (speed 113 km/h) 132 km
WEIGHT 220 Kg
BODY Kevlar and carbon fiber, 3d printed nylon, Eco leather and Alcantara® Seat with tailored seams
MOTOR Z-Force 75-10 permanent magnet AC motor
INPUT Standard 110 V or 220 V
TRANSMISSION Clutchless direct drive
BATTERY 14.4 kWh
REGENERATIVE BRAKE
– The E-Racer EDGE is a Zero SR/F special, for more technical features visit: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-srf/
– For info about the AirTender regressive suspension system visit: https://airtender.it
A Zero-based E-Racer “Rugged” electric motorcycle. Photo courtesy of E-Racer Motorcycles.
E-Racer RUGGED Mark2
360° LIFE PROOF ZERO FXS SPECIAL
Presented at Eicma 2018 as a prototype, the Rugged (based on Zero FXS) has been re-engineered and optimized to officially go into production and will be available for the first customers in spring 2020.
One of the main feature of the Rugged is the auxiliary aluminum frame with side rings to be tied / towed or hoisted on boats or pickups. Originally the Zero FXS was a military purposes motorcycle, with the E-Racer upgrade this attitude has been emphasized.
The front and back light are full LED and homologated result of the German experience in the most advanced LED technologies, like the front headlight, consisting of two polyellipsoidal micro units of just 4cm in width.
Compared to the original model the RUGGED has an underseat storage compartment accessible thanks to a mechanism that uses hydraulic pistons anchored to a laser-cut aluminum structure with the backlit RUGGED logo. In the underseat there is a double usb socket as well as a illuminated room large enough to contain a rain jacket or a 15m charging cable very useful for occasional recharges in restaurants, shops or private homes where a nearby power outlet is not available.
To make the charging procedure even easier, the socket has also been positioned in the compartment in order to protect it from the bad weather and dirt.
The saddle, long and flat to comfortably carry 3 people is handmade enriched with an exclusive hand-stitched texturethe designed by the E-Racer design team.
One of the “missions” for which the RUGGED is designed is to be a land tender for large boats, which is why the idea of transporting 3 or 4 people, material or equipment are part of this project.
The RUGGED is equipped with 12 small “Eagle Eye” led lights that allow the rider to have a perimetral 360° illuminated view at night, very useful when riding at night in difficult terrain.
The whole bike has been treated with Line X, an extremely resistant armor paint, a former military patent, which makes this bike incredibly resistant to the adversity of the city as an extreme off-road use. Thats way we sey that the RUGGED is a life proof motorcycle.
The E-Racer Audio-Forceback system – E-RAF
For the E-Racer team the design is not enough if it doesn’t evolve the functions, so we asked ourselves: could we improve the safety and driving performance of such a powerful electric motorcycle?
Increasing performance requires more security that’s why we have worked in this field combining the resources of our partners. Sound engineers, audio system experts and programmers worked to develop a dedicated app and hardware to meet this need. The E-Racer Audio-Forceback – E-RAF – will be available for all our customers.
The Audio-Forceback (E-RAF) is composed of an integrated hardware controlled by a BT App to produces high and low frequencies sound waves with a dual function. The first function is to warn pedestrians and other road users of the presence of the electric vehicle’s presence. As the low frequencies are easily audible in the distance, the trebles are more audible in the proximity and helps to understand the direction of the incoming vehicle.
The second function is to provide a force-feedback to the rider. The subsonic speaker produces vibrations that changes according to the speed of the motorcycle to give the rider a sensorial feel of the performance.
PRICES & DELIVERY
The price of the EDGE starts from 6.000 euro + motorcycle price
The first 5 units, entirely made to meet the specifications required by the pre-order customers will be delivered by spring 2020.
Tech Specs
MAX POWER 46 hp (34 kW)
MAX TORQUE 106 Nm
MAX SPEED 137 km/h
CHARGING TIME With max accessory chargers: 1.8 hours (100% charged) / 1.3 hours (95% charged)
RANGE City: 161 km – Highway, 113 km/h: 64 km
WEIGHT 136 Kg
FRAME Aircraft-grade
WHEELS front 120/70-17 – Rear 140/70 x 17
BODY Kevlar and carbon fiber, 3d printed nylon, Eco leather and Alcantara® Seat with tailored seams
– The E-Racer EDGE is a Zero SR/F special, for more technical features visit: https://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fxs/
– For info about the AirTender regressive suspension system visit: https://airtender.it
Electric motorcycles as built by students at (from left) Virginia Tech, the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, and the Rochester Institute of Technology at AHRMA's 2019 Varsity Challenge. Photo courtesy of AHRMA.
AHRMA VARSITY CHALLENGE 2020
For the seventh consecutive season, in 2020 AHRMA will host a full season of electric motorcycle road racing.
The Formula Lightning (formerly eMotoRacing) series will be highlighted by the June 19-21 ‘Varsity Challenge’ held at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. At NJMP collegiate engineering teams from the USA and Canada will vie for a scholarship award in a two round event.
AHRMA’s Formula Lightning classes have invited production and prototype ebikes for the past six years. The MotoE World Cup spec class just completed its first season, and shows good promise.
The eleven race series is held at tracks all across America.
The Formula LightningSM (formerly eMotoRacing) series is the PREMIER zero emissions motorcycle road racing series in the US. This means, if your race bike emits no exhaust while going around the track, you can use any means of propulsion you like; such as electricity, magnetism, gravity, flywheels, springs, etc. We welcome both stock and custom-built electric motorcycles, and innovations such as harnessing kinetic energy are encouraged.
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Ltd. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and competing on historic motorcycles and under-represented modern motorcycles. With over 3000 members, AHRMA is the leading vintage racing group in North America and one of the largest in the world. The association’s enthusiastic membership reflects this country’s strong interest in classic bikes.
A “press release” is promotional text issued by a rider, team, company or organization to inform
the public about an event, product, or service from the issuer’s own point of view, and if deemed
to have news value, may be placed on roadracingworld.com as a service to our readers.
A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers. When a post is labeled with the words “press release”, it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate. Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors.
Accessibility
Accessibility modes
Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
November 14, 2026
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
